Smoke on the Horizon
by NevertooSirius87
Summary: Post Blood of Olympus, Leo has found his way home to Camp Half Blood, Calypso in tow, but there is a new threat to get rid of before the seven can finally return to normalcy - or - before they can stop saving the world every second, rather.
1. I Leo

_**disclaimer : I do not own any characters involved in this writing. I did not invent the concept or names of the gods, because if I did that would mean I am thousands of years old and a primordial goddess myself.**_

 ** _Please leave comments and/or suggestions and thanks for reading! Enjoy ;)_**

* * *

 **LEO**

Leo was just about done with water.

He and Calypso had been flying for days now - or was it hours? For all he knew, it had only been ten minutes since they'd left the island of Ogygia, but the endless waves that churned below them made it impossible to keep track of time.

Leo turned his head and glanced behind him. "How long do you think it's been?"

"It's hard to say," his beautiful, immortal companion said wistfully. "Time - "

" - is hard here," he finished with a sigh. He'd seen that one coming. Leo had hoped he would never have to hear that phrase again. It was starting to wear on his nerves.

Below him, Festus the dragon creaked and groaned.

"I know bud, just a little longer." The bronze dragon was, against all logic, still flying. Even Leo, who had complete faith in his friend, had trouble believing it.

Only a year before, Festus had been all but destroyed when he crash-landed in Omaha, curtesy of her Royal Annoyingness, the snow goddess Khione. Then, after that, Leo had integrated Festus into his ship, the Argo II, and they along with the rest of their crew had taken on the dirt-faced Earth Mother herself, Gaea.

Now Festus puffed along, badly damaged from their recent battle with the goddess, above an uncharted ocean with Leo and Calypso on his back. Best of all - not one of them had a clue where they were headed, and that included the dragon complete with GPS navigation and the magical astrolabe constructed by Odysseus himself, completed by Leo Valdez.

Festus shook his head and clicked in protest, spewing steam and giving a shudder that reverberated through his entire bronze-plated body. Calypso gasped and clung tighter to Leo, looking in desperation at the dark water below.

"It's fine," Leo said, though he wasn't so sure it would be for much longer.

Festus's circuits must have been close to overloading. Even though he'd been permanently woken up by Piper's charmspeak, he could still succumb to exhaustion.

The gods knew how much more ocean they had to cross before they reached land. _If we reach land_ , Leo thought.

 _No. We will make it back_ , he decided. _I didn't come back from the dead and risk my life for Calypso just to run into engine trouble half way home and sink in the freaking ocean._

He dared a peek inside the dragon's head, popping the hatch on the back of Festus's neck to investigate the condition of his wiring. Gears whirred and clanged away, steaming as their heat was exposed to the cool ocean air.

The temperature that the equipment had reached from its exertion would probably have burned anyone else who prodded around in the automaton's circuitry.

Lucky for Leo, he wasn't anyone else. He was a son of Hephaestus. Heat came with the territory.

He closed the panel again and turned his attention back to the sea that simply kept coming at them, extending all the way to the horizon.

"You'd think with all this water, there'd be some kind of life," he said.

"What do you mean?" Calypso's eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"Well, water's like, the one thing all life needs to survive, right? And we are in the middle of an ocean. Pretty much the ultimate water source. But have we seen any kind of sea-life so far?"

He extended his arms, gesturing to the spartan expanse around them as if to prove his point. _Gods of Olympus_ \- he hadn't realized how sore he was. He had difficulty forcing his arms back down again, setting them at his sides as he tried to shake the stiffness out of his body the best one can while riding a giant metal dragon forty feet above the ocean.

Calypso nodded thoughtfully. "Just because there isn't anything on the surface doesn't mean there's nothing underneath."

This did not make Leo feel any better. In fact, all it did was make him sorry he'd said anything at all. Now, every time he looked at that black, turbulent current he couldn't help but imagine what _was_ lurking beneath the surface.

Unfortunately, what came to mind was not the Little Mermaid.

Soon (or what Leo perceived to be "soon"), pink wisps spread across the evening sky and darkness began to set in. Leo yawned. His eyes felt heavy, but he was determined to keep awake until they reached land.

Calypso placed her hand on his shoulder. "Sleep. You need it," she said quietly.

Leo began to protest but her voice made the suggestion too tempting and his eyes drooped. Against his will, his chin slumped to his chest and Leo fell headlong into his dreams.

* * *

Leo stood in a vast field that stretched out as far as he could see.

 _So I'm dead_ , was his first thought. _And these are the Fields of Punishment_.

But that didn't make sense. From what he'd been told (by people with firsthand Underworld experience and Leo wasn't about to argue with _their_ accounts), the Fields of Punishment were brutal and filled with miserable, tortured souls. He was pretty sure it wasn't this quiet or this empty.

 _Maybe they all went to a movie_. No. No, that was a stupid idea, even for Leo. Even if there was a movie theater in the Underworld, the flicks they played were probably all bad, corny Sy-Fy or Hallmark productions - movies fit for eternal damnation.

He did a three-sixty, scoping out his surroundings and the not-so-punishy field, and found himself face to face with a massive mountain face.

Leo took a step back, in awe of the staggering size of the rock.

CRUNCH

He slowly lifted his foot and looked down. Where he had stepped, pressed into the dirt was a small piece of glass. Leo bent over and picked it up. It's ragged edges were dangerously sharp and the shard sat perfectly within the palm of his hand.

His face reflected back at him in the weathered surface, dark eyes and unkempt hair, but suddenly he glimpsed something else. Just a flash - like an afterimage, overlaid on his own. He looked closer, trying to catch it again, but his focus was disrupted as he heard something above him.

Leo looked up just in time to see a very large chunk of the rock face tumbling down the mountain at terminal velocity, headed straight towards him.

He dove out of the way as the ledge slammed into the earth, shattering a foot from where Leo now crouched in the dirt. He gazed intently back up at where it had fallen from, looking for anything, or anyone, who could have dislodged such a massive piece of stone, but he saw nothing. The cliff was bare. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he sensed movement behind him.

He spun, holding the fractured shard of glass in front of him like a dagger -

The dream shifted.

Leo was in the dining pavilion back at Camp Half Blood. The place was deserted save for the long buffet tables and hearth at the head of the room. It was light, but the grounds seemed empty. Perhaps all the campers were still sleeping back in their cabins or in the midst of a game of Capture the Flag. He heard voices off to his right, urgent and soft, as if they didn't want to be overheard.

"Yes I know," one was saying. It was Jason Grace, Leo's best friend and son of Zeus - sorry, Jupiter.

"You heard what Rachel said." Piper was huddled next to him, sitting on the pavilion steps. "And with the Prophecies still not working - "

"I know, but what can we do here?" Jason asked, obviously flustered.

"Leo...Leo was the one good with all that stuff. But - " His voice broke. Piper leaned her head against his shoulder.

The way they spoke about him, as if he were dead, made Leo a little angry.

He wanted to yell at them that he was right there, that he could hear them, throw some fireballs their way maybe. But then he remembered that that was exactly what they must have thought. After all, he _had_ been dead.

And at the moment, to them he still was. His anger then morphed into sadness. He had known his fair share of death and destruction, but as he thought about it, he realized he couldn't imagine what it might feel like if one of his friends died. They'd come close of course, but he'd never had the luxury to think too hard about the possibility. It was just a given, something to be dealt with as it came. But to lose Jason or Piper...

He pushed those thoughts from his head.

He was Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, doer of the impossible. He was headed back to his friends and _he would_ make it. However long it took, he would get there, riding in on a blaze of glory, or more specifically, the blaze of Festus the giant bronze dragon.

His subconscious must have eventually picked up on the strangeness of the situation at hand for he suddenly found himself putting everything that stood around him into perspective. Leo stood leaning against a Greek style column near the head table in the dining pavilion at Camp Half Blood, listening in on a conversation about his own death between his two best friends. Meanwhile, he was actually asleep on the back of a metal dragon with a beautiful girl, flying across an ocean as imaginary as this dream was. And then it broke.

Jason turned to him and said, "Leo, wake up. We're going to die."


	2. II Jason

**JASON**

Camp Half Blood had never been cleaner. Or emptier.

It had been two weeks since the Romans had departed, having taken care of their wounded and assisting the Greek campers with clean-up, and the absence of their encampment and weaponry now made the area feel…abandoned.

Jason wasn't sure why he felt that way. Maybe it was the toll that the battle with Gaea had taken on the camp, or maybe he was homesick for New Rome. Not that he'd ever admit that.

He was home here as well, after all. He had friends here, a girlfriend, a family. He'd had all that at Camp Jupiter too, well, minus the girlfriend, but somehow Camp Half Blood made him feel whole in a way that Camp Jupiter never could.

He wandered around the grounds, surrounded by the relative quiet of the afternoon. He knew Piper would be looking for him, but at the moment he just needed some time to himself.

Jason headed for the top of Half Blood Hill. He hadn't been up here since the Earth Mother had been blown out of the sky by a massive fireball of Imperial Gold ammunition, taking Leo and Festus along for the ride.

The Athena Parthenos towered over the hill, protecting the camp now from monsters and acting as a symbol of newfound friendship between the Greek and Roman demigods. She radiated power.

Jason remembered all they'd gone through to get her here. She was a peace offering, a sacrifice, and the key to defeating Gaea all rolled into one. She provided strength to those around her when they needed it, but otherwise, she just put Jason on edge. He felt too jittery around the statue, like someone was running an electric current through his body and it was all he could do to contain it.

Scars covered the hillside from the Roman's onagers and the shrapnel from the battle several weeks prior. Many of the deep gashes in the ground were already beginning to grow over with grass and a variety of flowers thanks to the dryads' and satyrs' magic, and the naiads had begun to stop finding stray weapons and armor at the bottom of the lake.

Everything was beginning to return to normal.

Jason however simply couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Leo wasn't there with them. It wasn't right. He'd made it possible for them to make their voyage to the Ancient Lands at all. Without him, there was no way they would ever have succeeded with their quest. And then, to top it all off, he had given his life to make sure they did.

Jason felt like he'd failed. He had let Leo go through with his plan, and now his friend was dead.

"It's not your fault." Piper walked up the hill behind Jason and stood next to him. He smiled.

"What's not?" he said, but she wasn't fooled. He had started to wonder if she could in fact read minds as well as influence them.

She gave him a sad smile. "You know. Leo?"

Jason sighed and his smile faded. Piper took his hand. "You couldn't have done anything. You know him, when he's got his mind set on something, nothing can change it. He knew what he was doing. The best we can do now is remember that."

He nodded. "It's just not fair." In the distance, the gong sounded at the dining pavilion. Campers started pouring out of their cabins and rushing to find their seats.

"Let's go," Piper said, nudging him along. Jason took one last look up at the Athena Parthenos and turned back to the camp with Piper.

* * *

They were two of the last to walk through the columns. Piper kissed him softly on the cheek and made her way through the throng of campers to the Aphrodite table.

Jason watched her go, then headed over to his own table. He was the only one, son of Jupiter, much like Percy or Nico at their own lonely tables for Poseidon and Hades.

He plopped down on the bench and waited for Chiron to announce the start of the meal.

He glanced around the length of the pavilion and realized for the first time just how many empty seats there were. Every cabin had been effected, losing campers in the battle against Gaea.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise. The ceremony for the dead had been long and difficult. Jason didn't know many of them, but he still felt a sharp twang of pain and sadness at the sight of all the shrouds burning in the firelight.

But now, seeing everyone together at dinner, the Romans no longer filling the holes, it struck Jason just how much they'd sacrificed to stop the Earth goddess.

Percy knocked Jason out of his dreary thoughts as he sat down next to him on the bench.

"How's it going?" he asked casually.

Jason shrugged. "Fine, you?"

"Hey, can't complain."

They returned to silence and Percy shifted uncomfortably in his seat, like something was on his mind but he didn't quite know how to talk about it.

Jason was about to ask what was bothering him when Chiron, his horse half confined to his wheelchair so he could actually sit at the table, cleared his throat loudly enough to get everyone's attention and waited for silence.

"Good evening, everyone," he began. "I'm sure you're all anxious to get to your dinner, but I do have a few words for all of you before we start." A few of the younger kids sighed in disappointment, but they were quickly shushed by the older campers at their tables who looked back to Chiron expectantly.

"We have endured much in recent weeks, and lost much." He paused. "But we have persevered and done what was necessary. And we have succeeded. By now, many of you may have heard rumors from Camp Jupiter in regards to our oracle, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. You should know that those in charge know just as much as you, or rather, just as little, and we should make no assumptions as to the verity of these rumors."

There was silence. Many campers looked at each other in confusion, others in annoyance, some with looks of relief as they realized there might not be anything to worry about after all at present.

"That is not to say we should simply dispel them, but for the moment at least, hopefully some peace may be kept. Now, everyone off."

Campers jumped up from their seats with their plates, racing to form a line behind the hearth and make their offerings to their godly parents so they could finally sit down to the food themselves.

Jason and Percy got up together and waited patiently for their turns.

When they returned to their seats, Percy glanced up at the head table. Mr. D, who had been recently reinstated as Activities Director, eyed him as he sat with Jason at the Zeus table. The wine god scoffed and averted his gaze again. He apparently either didn't care that they were breaking the rules or was too lazy to do anything about it.

Percy smirked and began tearing into his blue crusted pizza, complete with navy tinged cheese.

Jason was about to cut into his meal too, but he had the feeling that someone was watching him. He turned, only to find Nico di Angelo sitting at the Hades table, alone as usual.

"I'll be right back," Jason said as Percy was picking up a second slice of pizza. The son of Poseidon nodded, his mouth full of crust.

Jason approached the Hades table and dared take a seat next to the raven haired boy. Nico flinched and for one awful moment Jason wondered if he was about to be pulled into the ground by the skeletal warriors he'd seen the younger boy summon so many times before.

Nico looked up from his plate and feigned surprise that Jason was there.

"Come on over?" Jason said, nodding to where Percy sat, now inspecting his Coke as if trying to decide if it was blue enough for him.

Nico hesitated, suddenly taking great interest in the rim of his plate, before nodding once and standing from the table. "Sure."

Jason smiled, leading the way back across the pavilion.

Percy looked up as they approached, his smile nervous as he noticed Nico trailing Jason.

Nico took a seat across from Percy and nodded hello.

"Hey," Percy said, glancing from Nico to Jason.

"What?" Nico asked. Percy's smile disappeared.

"Nothing," he said slowly. "I just - we didn't think we'd get you to come over."

The son of Hades smiled and turned his attention back to his plate.

Percy looked at Jason in surprised confusion, to which Jason simply picked up his cheeseburger and took a large bite.

Percy shrugged and picked up his pizza.

Soon the campers began to file out of the dining pavilion and head back to their designated cabins.

Annabeth trotted over from the Athena table, weaving her way impatiently through the crowd.

She took Percy's hand and looked seriously between him, Jason, and Nico.

"We need to talk." The three boys exchanged a look that said something like _Gods, what is it now?_ and nodded in unison.

They followed Annabeth around the side of the pavilion and across the lawn to the Big House where Rachel Elizabeth Dare was waiting for them.


	3. III Hazel

**HAZEL**

The trip back to New Rome seemed to last forever.

The only upside to the cross-country voyage was the new, almost tangible respect towards she and Frank by the other Romans.

Ever since the battle with Gaea, there had been so many questions from the other campers about their quest that Hazel had begun to paraphrase the story, dropping vague references to the most important pieces and summing up the rest.

Frank on the other hand, had to recount the story in full for the senators of New Rome. As Praetor, he couldn't afford to leave anything out and every time he forgot something, Hazel was forced to jump in, which unfortunately was more often than not.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the current oracle, had accompanied them from Camp Half Blood, eager to assist with the mysterious Sibylline books that the harpy Ella had memorized at some point in her book-loving history.

Together they hoped to decipher whatever they could and perhaps even compile a record of the prophecies that had been lost for centuries.

The horde of Roman demigods arrived in San Fransisco in five days, pretty good time Hazel thought for a couple hundred kids complete with battle armor and assorted weaponry.

As soon as they crested the hill overlooking the Little Tiber on the outskirts of New Rome, Hazel felt a tugging in her chest as if her heart was trying to beat her into the city. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed this place, or how very long it had been since last she set foot here.

Frank appeared at her side and took her hand. She smiled, thinking about how much they'd been through and how lucky they were to be standing here right now. It all seemed like a dream.

The SUV's loaded down with armor and other supplies barreled past them, followed by a few kids who toted crates of stray swords and shields that hadn't made it into the cars.

The giant eagles soared overhead returning to their homes, and the statue of Terminus stood at the ready as his own little welcoming committee.

Hazel, Frank, and Reyna led the group in, approaching the Pomerian line and stopping before the god of boundaries.

"So you've returned, I see," Terminus said, eyeing the demigods grouped behind the three.

"Yes, it would appear we have," Reyna replied with a smile. "May we enter?"

"I suppose you must. The camp has been rather peaceful though in your absence. But alas, with the fall of the earth goddess, life must go on, Praetor!"

The statue moved aside for Reyna to pass, but looked sharply at Frank as he moved to follow.

"And you, _Praetor_ Zhang."

Frank looked at the bust sheepishly. "Yes, Terminus?"

"Oh, nothing. Serve us well."

He blushed and bowed his head to Terminus, who simply nodded and turned to the next person who stood in line.

Hazel entered the city beside Frank, only to find Reyna waiting for them on the stone paved street. Her dogs, Aurum and Argentum, had remained with her throughout their journey and now raced down the familiar streets, sniffing around every corner in excitement.

"Praetor Zhang, will you accompany me to the Senate House? There is much to discuss." She must have noticed the surprise in Hazel's face at Frank's being snatched from her so quickly upon their return, for she hastily added, "I would rather get a meeting with the senate underway immediately so that we can better organize ourselves as we settle back into the camp." Reyna smiled, but it was an expression that said not that she was completely sorry, but rather that her request simply needed to be understood.

Frank glanced at Hazel.

"Go, I'll see you later."

He nodded nervously and followed Reyna up the steep hill and towards the Senate House, leaving Hazel to head back to the camp with the others.

* * *

She meshed into the rest of the group and together they marched wearily into Camp Jupiter.

Lares crowded in doorways and lined the streets to observe the return of the soldiers and to scowl at many of their gaits, quite _un-Roman_ and disorganized.

Some of the specters watched them pass by through slitted eyes, others waved dismissively and turned away, returning to their previous tasks.

Hazel went around and aided the others in storing the many swords and other supplies, and soon the work was nearly done. The cohorts separated and spilled through the camp to the barracks where they met up with friends and noticed empty spaces that wouldn't be filled.

Many of the Fifth cohort collapsed on their bunks as soon as they arrived, others placed their belongings where they could find them later and went out again, perhaps to the bath or mess hall for some much needed relaxation and familiar food.

Hazel waited, sitting on the side of her bed, trying to decide what to do.

Finally, she decided to go look for Frank.

She hadn't heard anything about the meeting with the senators, but she couldn't imagine it was still going on. It'd been nearly two hours since they'd separated in the city. He was probably on his way back now, or helping out with last minute organization as his status of Praetor demanded.

She set out down the road and couldn't help but notice that no precious gemstones appeared in her wake. Ever since they'd returned from the Ancient Lands, she hadn't had any problem with her Underworldly ability. It seemed never to happen anymore.

Hazel reached the Pomerian line at the edge of New Rome and again, stepped through into the city under Terminus's watchful eye. She walked past the café and decorative fountains that lined the street and made her way up the steep hill to the Senate house.

She entered the high columned archway and paused as she heard the urgent voices of the ten senators, deep in discussion.

"How can you say that?" one demanded. "There is no proof that any of this is true!"

The other centurions grumbled in agreement.

"Has there ever been sufficient _proof_ when dealing with Prophecies, Hank?" Reyna said calmly, her expression set as she dared the boy to contradict her.

"Well, no, I suppose not but - "

"Exactly, which is why we must listen to what little _proof_ we have. I believe that our oracle's decision is the right one. We should trust it. Now, shall we all return to the camp and make ourselves comfortable? It has been a long few weeks and I for one am looking forward to some peace."

There was no further argument.

Dakota took a swig from his flask and folded his hands behind his head.

"Well I think that about sums it up," he said with a yawn.

Hazel heard the scrape of the heavy chairs against the tile and moved quickly back to the door. She stepped outside and waited along the side of the building.

Reyna appeared first, followed by Frank who trotted to catch up to her as she walked briskly out of the Senate house.

"Do you think they'll go for it?" he asked quietly, glancing behind him to make sure the other senators couldn't hear him.

"I'm not sure." Reyna sounded weary, like the meeting had taken a lot out of her. "Dakota and Brandon I know are with us. It's the others we'll have to be wary of. Unless they can be swayed, they'll prove difficult for us."

Frank nodded, worry lines creasing his forehead as he wrapped his head around what Reyna was saying.

The two Praetors came around the pillar where Hazel was standing and she thought for sure they would see her. They kept walking and she let out the breath she'd been holding.

She waited a moment, then stepped out from the shadow of the building. Hazel walked quickly to catch up with them. Frank saw her first, slowing just slightly until she was beside him and smiled.

Reyna nodded to her and they walked back to the camp in silence.


	4. IV Percy

**PERCY**

Percy figured it was only a matter of time. Three weeks without any problems? Excluding the little scuffle between an angry Roman named Taylor and one of the Stolls over how a certain gladius had ended up in the camp store, that is, that was a record.

So the stern look on Rachel's face when she saw them approaching wasn't what surprised him.

What surprised him was that Rachel Elizabeth Dare was here. In Camp Half Blood. In Long Island.

Just two weeks ago she had left for Camp Jupiter, on the other side of the country, with the Roman demigods. What did she do, turn around halfway? Percy had a feeling it wasn't because she forgot her toothbrush.

Annabeth, Percy, Nico, and Jason trudged up the steps of the porch as Rachel turned and walked into the Big House in front of them.

Piper was already inside with Chiron, along with Hazel and Frank who must have accompanied Rachel back. They looked deep in conversation but they all looked up when the four entered.

Piper stood and went to stand beside Jason, concern spread on her face.

"Do you know what's going on?" she asked, looking around at all of them. No one answered, Jason, Nico, and Percy shaking their heads simultaneously.

Annabeth stiffened beside Percy and dropped his hand, turning toward Rachel who was looking distractedly out the window out over the camp.

"Rachel, do you want to repeat what you told Chiron and me?" The oracle turned slowly and focused on the group. She still had a faraway look in her eyes, and her voice was soft as she began to speak.

"Something is happening," she said. "Something…something bad."

Percy had the urge to say something like, _Well we've never faced anything like_ that _before_ , but he stopped himself. There was something in the way Rachel was staring, not truly at them, like she couldn't believe what she was seeing, and it made him nervous.

"With the gift of Prophecy still not present, we've been working with what we have of the Sibylline books, or what Ella has of them that is. We obviously haven't had much time, but we worked all the way back to New Rome and managed to get a little insight."

There was silence and Chiron motioned for Rachel to continue.

"It isn't much, but it has been enough to make us believe that there is something coming, and coming soon."

"How soon is 'soon' exactly?" Percy said. "Like, maybe we'll be able to graduate high school first?"

"I don't know, but I don't think that long. Sorry, Percy."

He shrugged. "Hey, no problem. That's fine. I didn't think I would stand a chance in Calculus anyway."

Annabeth elbowed him. "Keep going, Rachel."

"Anyway, so like I said, we really don't know much. But there have been the dreams too."

At this everyone took pause. Rachel was a mortal. She didn't get dreams, at least not like demigods did. If Rachel had dreams, they would be prophetic - only the gift of Prophecy was currently out of commission.

"What kind of dreams, Rachel?" Chiron said calmly.

"It's always the same - I am surrounded by water, I see land and I swim towards it, but I never make it. Something pulls me down and I can't breath. There are lights at the bottom of the…the ocean or whatever, and I am drawn to them. It's really dark and it suddenly becomes this kind of city, like some of the ancient ruins. There's what used to be a palace, a temple, and it looks like I'm alone. This man appears, there's a flash of light. He doesn't seem to notice me. There's this voice that echoes across the palace, loud, almost like an explosion. And then I wake up."

"And what does it say?" Chiron spoke as if he already knew the answer.

" _All of humanity shall sink to the depths and all of Olympus shall be consumed._ "

* * *

The whole group stared at Rachel as if she'd just told them she was actually a five-headed dragon named Clyde.

"So, same old story? Some crazy is threatening the imminent doom of humanity and the gods?" Percy suggested.

"How do we know it's even a prophecy though?" Jason said, though he didn't sound convinced.

"We don't really," Rachel said. "It's more like a feeling, not exactly like the oracle showing me things, but…I don't know. I can't explain. But one thing is clear. _Something_ is about to happen."

"You said you'd figured out some of the Sibylline books," Piper remembered.

Rachel nodded. "Yeah, at least we think we have. We don't know if the lines are in order, or even complete, but it's something at least :

 _The seas will shroud an ancient dark,_

 _All but one shall hit his mark._

 _A conquered foe shall rise again,_

 _A veil of light the world shall shed._

 _The ocean's wisdom shall be forged,_

 _A forgotten goddess in death reborn._

 _Three shall follow a watery trail,_

 _Without help, they are destined to fail._ "

"Sounds pretty complete to me," Nico said quietly. The others motioned their agreement.

"The first line is pretty self-explanatory I think," Annabeth said. "Whatever is trying to rise is coming out of the sea, and then the end, three heroes are meant to go on the quest to stop it."

"But the whole _without help_ piece makes it seem like others are supposed to join them," Percy pointed out. "Three may actually complete the quest, but unless other people go, the whole thing will fail."

Chiron bobbed his head up and down slowly, deep in thought. "It is certainly clear that Percy must be one of the three."

"Just because it's about water? I mean, I'm all for the obvious but that seems a little too easy, don't you think?" Percy said. He was not looking forward to going on any more quests, especially if he was the meant to be the main man, and the whole water thing surprisingly enough, was not appealing to him either.

Normally, he'd be excited at the prospect of lots of water. It meant he'd be strong in a battle and able to do his part. But in this case, if Annabeth was right, their enemy would be just as comfortable and probably even more powerful. The presence of water would simply make it all the more dangerous.

"I think he's right, Percy," Annabeth said. " _A conquered foe_ , well that could mean anything but…" She glanced at Chiron and they held a silent conversation.

"What? You think you know what it means, don't you?"

"I'm not sure. No, I don't know. Never mind."

Percy was going to press her for it, she obviously had some idea of what the prophecy was saying, but Jason cut in.

"Okay, but what does the _a forgotten goddess in death reborn_ part mean? How can you be reborn in death?"

"Maybe it's talking about the underworld," Nico piped up. "Dying and finding life in Elysium or something? Or reincarnation, maybe."

"But a goddess? Could that even happen?"

Nico shrugged. "That's a point, I don't know."

"Well we have at least some time to think this through." Chiron leaned back in his chair and stretched. He had dark bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept well in a long time. Now that Percy thought about it, the centaur probably hadn't since the battle with Gaea. He'd taken charge of almost every aspect of cleanup, helping with the wounded as well as the damages to the camp itself. "Let's all sleep on it and resume this tomorrow."

The group agreed and began to file out of the Big House.

Chiron motioned for Percy to stay. When Annabeth turned back with him, he said, "No, my dear, I'd like to speak to Mr. Jackson alone please." She looked at him in confusion but didn't question her old mentor. She smiled at Percy and headed out the door.

"Sit down, Percy."

"What is it?"

"Well I'm sure I don't know," Chiron said with a smile. "What's on your mind?"

Percy didn't know what to say. There was something he'd been itching to talk about, but he hadn't yet had the chance. Now that one was staring him in the face and demanding he fess up, he drew a blank.

"Nothing," he said, though from the look on Chiron's face he knew he wasn't getting away with the lie. He sighed. "I'm not sure. I just…maybe I'm just tired. I haven't slept well recently."

"And what of dreams? You seemed tense when we spoke of an enemy from the sea. I'd have expected you to jump at that opportunity."

 _You and me both_ , Percy thought. "Annabeth knows who the enemy is, doesn't she?"

Chiron sighed. "I believe she has an idea, though she's too worried to admit that she's probably right."

"And what does she think?"

"I would rather not say at present," Chiron said helpfully. "I'd like to postpone that conversation for when we know both who will be going on the quest and what the other pieces mean. I did simply want to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine," Percy said curtly.

"Yes, well now why don't you get to your cabin and relax. I've certainly kept you long enough. Oh and Percy," he said as Percy rose from the chair and moved to the door.

"Sir?"

"Don't dismiss your dreams, Percy. Do not attempt to evade them, for they will only find you again in the most inopportune of times."

"Sure."

"Goodnight, then."

Percy nodded and returned to cabin three where he had every intention of evading his dreams best he could despite what Chiron advised.


	5. V Leo

**LEO**

Leo had always wanted to visit Maine. It was the pointy rocks of death he could have done without.

Leo woke to Calypso shaking him furiously and screaming his name.

He would have made a snarky comment about how she never seemed to stop that, but in less time than it would have taken him to think up said comment he realized they were plummeting through the air. Down. Fast.

The good news : there was land.

The bad news : on that land was a rocky outcropping of jagged, deadly sharp stone pillars jutting out of the center of a valley.

The worst news : they had left the ocean behind long ago.

At first, Leo figured he could have maneuvered Festus just enough to land in the water (sure, they'd probably still never survive the impact, but at least they wouldn't be torn apart by rocks which gave them a slight advantage) but that plan wouldn't work now.

Leo's mind spun - literally - as he tried to form a plan.

If they kept going at this speed, they would slam into those rocks and be destroyed. The question was, how could they slow down, or at the very least change direction?

Festus's body had gone cold. Moving him did not appear to be an option. In order to move, the metal dragon needed heat : an energy source.

Leo flung open the maintenance hatch and fumbled through the heaps of wiring. Smoke billowed from the opening and into Leo's face. He coughed and waved it away the best he could, but the toxic fumes were the least of his worries.

Festus the dragon had overheated.

"Well that's a new one," he said through gritted teeth as he looped the melted ends of wires over each other like some complicated hair style.

For one brief second, Leo thought he'd done it. A single spark caught between two cables, but it died just as quickly as it'd come.

Leo cursed and chanced a look at their surroundings.

It would have been beautiful had they not been traveling over ninety miles an hour.

Green hills rolled out on either side of them, tall pine trees dotted the landscape and a small lake sat in the middle of a larger clearing to the west.

 _A lake._

Leo had a crazy idea, but if it worked it might save all their lives. If it didn't…well. He wasn't about to think on the alternative.

But he still needed fire power to get Festus to move.

His hands burst into flame - hot, angry fire that licked its way up his arms and singed the already charred teeshirt he wore.

Leo thrust one into the hatch and waited.

One second.

Two.

Three.

The bronze shuddered.

Leo yanked his hand free and pulled with all his might on Festus's head.

The great metal dragon groaned and tilted ever so slightly to the west. But it wasn't enough. Suddenly, the stones in the valley below were racing past beneath them, ten feet from Festus at the most. If they hit one, they were doomed.

They were dropping faster with each second they were in the air.

Leo tugged again, desperate to get the big lug to move.

Festus lurched and Leo willed himself to hold on as the wind picked up and was disrupted by the pillars that seemed to creep up around them.

Suddenly though, they began to ascend.

But that was impossible…Festus was out for the count, wasn't he?

Leo didn't have time to comprehend what was happening, and the dragon tilted again to the west. Leo was sure they were going to go into a downward spiral. They were dead for sure. He turned his head to look at Calypso, but anything he would have said would have been lost in the whipping wind. Her face was buried in his back, her arms tight around his waist, holding on for dear life.

"It'll be alright, Sunshine," he said softly.

Miraculously, Festus leveled out and they began a much smoother, almost controlled descent. If Leo hadn't known better, he would have thought his friend was still awake…

Festus raised his head and they soared until the clear water of the lake was less than twenty feet below, and they turned in a sharp dive.

Leo had just enough time to hold his breath and reach back to clamp his hand over Calypso's mouth before they crashed.

The water was shallow, only coming up to Festus's neck, and the two passengers easily waded to shore. The dragon crumpled as steam rippled off him in plumes. Leo stood on the bank and stared at the beast in amazement.

"Wh…what happened?" Calypso asked shakily, running the water out of her caramel hair.

Leo shook his head. "If I had to guess, I'd say I'm not the only one who's come back from the dead today."

"Indeed," a voice echoed across the water to them. "Well, well, well. This _is_ quite exciting, isn't it?"

* * *

The man stood on the opposite side of the lake, watching them intently, dragging the tips of his toes through the icy water.

"Who are you?" Leo said. He was by far the strangest looking person he'd ever seen. The man had a single tuft of curly blond hair atop his otherwise bald head like some overgrown baby, and as he stood he walked on the tips of his toes, his feet seeming not to even touch the ground.

Then Leo noticed that his feet _weren't_ touching the ground. The blond baby-man had a small pair of tawny feathered wings that sprouted from the base of his heels and fluttered madly as they propelled him forward.

"Oh, what a question." He said it like it brought him pain. "What a question. People pray to me and they don't even know it. _Oh please let me make it through this! Let me ace my algebra test today! Let me win that bet! Let us land in that lake down there!_ " At the last statement he directed his gaze directly at Leo, his eyes intense like Leo should be coming up with the answer to his question on his own.

"So, your name?"

"I am Caerus!" the god yelled, blowing across the lake until he stood directly in front of Leo and Calypso.

"Oh, yeah. Caerus! Of course! Didn't recognize you for a second, man. Looking good!"

"Bah, enough," Caerus spat. "Don't even bother. No one knows me. God of opportunity and it's like I don't even exist."

"So, every time someone really wants something, or needs good luck or something, they pray to you?"

"Well yes, in theory that is. People pray, sometimes I oblige, but they don't actually know they're praying or who they're praying to." Caerus sighed. "It's all very sad really - all those blind hopes finding me in their foolish desperation. What they don't realize is that I simply produce the opportunity. They are the ones who must take it."

Leo thought about all of the times he had desperately wanted something. Before he came to camp Half Blood, hoping to God for that dirt bike XL when he was five, or that everything would be okay for his mother. Only when he thought about it now did he realize they had been blind as Caerus said. He had no idea what 'god' he was talking to, "God" with a big _G_ or no.

"So why did you help us?" Leo asked. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like the answer.

Caerus gave a low, growl-like chuckle. "Why to kill you, of course!"


	6. VI Percy

**PERCY**

In Percy's dreams, he found himself on a ridge at the bottom of the ocean.

The chasm below him sprawled out into a darkness reminiscent of falling through Tartarus. It was unnerving, and Percy had the eerie understanding that there was something alive on the other side.

Something urged him forward and he propelled himself through the murk.

A massive piece of rock - no, a _column -_ rose beneath him, leveling out to reveal the entire blueprint for a massive palace.

The place was in ruins and Percy knew that this was the same as the palace Rachel described in her own dream.

Even worse, Percy recognized it.

He saw the massive command center he had visited just before the battle against Kronos in Manhattan where his father had fought the sea titan, Oceanus. Parts of the building had been torn down then, but now the whole area was demolished.

Percy worked his way around the rubble that once was a Greek temple and the collapsing pillars of the once magnificent underwater grounds.

It was Poseidon's palace, or what was left of it, but the voice that Percy heard next was not his father's.

The rasping sound that seemed to erupt from the depths of the ocean itself hardly passed for a voice, but it was as if the sea were talking. It shifted the silt below Percy's feet, echoing off the chasm like a steel drum.

It was an ancient power that made Percy want to turn and swim away as fast as he could.

But he also knew that this was the voice heard by Rachel Elizabeth Dare that had threatened to destroy the human race.

Percy had heard that one before and it was not something he appreciated. He made the decision that he would never hear it again.

"Yes, brother, we shall pull Olympus out of the sky and drown all of humanity in our storms. Nothing will survive our wake and the seas shall rule the world once more!"

Percy edged closer to the voice. He clung close to the rock, not desiring to be spotted by an angry ocean seeking to destroy him.

He supposedly couldn't be seen as he was dreaming, but for some reason he knew that whatever was talking wouldn't follow that rule.

"But how can we be sure our plan won't fail?" another voice said. "If we are not victorious, the Olympians will surely cast us both down to Tartarus."

The first voice growled. "Silence! I told you never to speak of that place! It was miraculous that I found the Doors of Death a second time and made it through - I shall not be thrown back to that pit again! We shall reign victorious and cast the _Olympians_ down to Tartarus!"

"As you say, brother." The second voice didn't sound as convinced as submissive.

Suddenly, the cavern was filled with a deafening hiss like a massive vacuum cleaner and shuddered as if the whole cavern was collapsing on itself from above.

Light burst from the chasm, so bright it transformed the ocean bottom into a sunny tide pool.

Percy slammed his eyes shut against the shock and had to will himself to open them again.

He jumped when he noticed that just a short distance away stood two figures. They both wore Greek chitons that billowed out behind them in the current. Both were about as tall as the typical giant and just as huge.

The being on the left was just slightly taller than his brother, with skin the color of the sea after a storm.

An impressive set of horns protruded from his hair, the same shade of black as the ocean depths. In place of legs he had a long, muscular tail that shimmered blue and gold in the artificial light.

The second being turned to the massive merman. "You will see, Oceanus. All will end in our favor. The titans will rule again and, unless you've forgotten how often the gods have undermined your power, all of Olympus shall get what they deserve."

 _Titans_ , Percy thought. He'd dealt with them plenty of times and wasn't eager to do it yet again. To make it worse, these two looked awfully familiar.

Percy recalled the name Oceanus from two years prior when he'd visited his father, Poseidon, in the midst of an undersea battle with the ocean titan.

Oceanus had then been convinced by his brother, Kronos, to join the fight against the Olympians and take up the battle with Poseidon. But he had retreated back to his deepwater abyss when Kronos was defeated. What would've brought him out again?

The second titan had eyes the color of ice and every bit as cold. His blue-white hair was cut short and he wore a thick set of Stygian iron armor, elaborately decorated with a single brilliant diamond set in his breastplate.

His face was scarred from centuries of battles, and a titanic sword was sheathed at his side.

"No, Koios. I have not forgotten."

 _Koios_. Percy remembered now. Koios was one of the original titans, like Oceanus, son of Ouranos and Gaea, and titan of the North.

He had guarded the Doors of Death with his brother, Krios, and been trapped in Tartarus when Percy and Annabeth escaped and sealed the Doors from both sides.

He had initially been thrown into Tartarus when he and the rest of the titans were defeated in the first Titan War. Now, he sought revenge, and was using Oceanus to get it.

"Good, brother. I knew you would not disappoint. Now, I believe we are being watched."

The icy eyes flashed to the rock that Percy had pressed himself up against and stared straight at the son of Poseidon.

"No, Perseus Jackson. You cannot hide from me. We will destroy everything, and all of you, all of the gods. There is nothing you can do to stop us."

Another beam of light broke out of the chasm and Percy found himself back in his cabin, gasping for breath.


	7. VII Jason

**JASON**

Jason couldn't sleep. He lay awake for hours, feeling the hollow stare of the statue of Zeus in the center of the cabin.

The talk with Chiron and Rachel about the new prophecy had rattled him more than he could explain. He had almost been hopeful that with the gift of Prophecy on hold, they would be safe. He had convinced himself that there'd be no more quests for the moment.

Although Percy had been joking, Jason had agreed with him when he mentioned graduating high school. He wanted a normal life for one simple moment. He didn't think that was too much to ask, but when it came to the gods and the ancient evil forces, that seemed to always be the running joke.

 _Oh, you want to have a calm weekend with your girlfriend? Go to a movie maybe? Yeah, sorry. The fate of humanity needs saving. Maybe next weekend though!_

A guilty part of him hoped he wouldn't be determined one of the three to go on this quest, and he felt sorry for Percy that it didn't appear _he_ had a choice. Everyone seemed to agree that he was it.

The whole thing reminded Jason of how he used to feel back at Camp Jupiter, back before he knew about the existence of the Greek camp, back when his greatest worries were how to deal with his responsibilities as Praetor.

He was expected to be the best, and to do the best, no matter the cost, not just because of his status in the Legion but because of his godly parent, Jupiter, the king of Olympus.

Jason understood how Percy must feel, being singled out as the probable leader of a quest.

And Percy didn't seem too thrilled with the idea either. Jason had noticed the way his friend had tensed up at Rachel's description of an underwater palace in ruins and an enemy that seemed to originate from the sea.

Jason also wondered if Percy knew something about the prophecy. The way he'd been acting, like he had something important on his mind, at dinner gave Jason the impression that the son of the sea god had had more on his plate than the blue pizza.

Soon, early morning began to lighten the room and Jason decided he wouldn't lose anything by getting up.

He didn't bother with lights and fumbled for clothes, picking up his old purple teeshirt and pulling it over his head.

Jason ran his hand through his crumpled hair, figuring he wouldn't see anyone anyway so it didn't really matter if he looked like he'd just gotten out of bed, and he headed toward the arena.

* * *

He thought he'd be alone.

Instead, he found Percy, doing his best to destroy a dummy in rusted bronze armor.

"Woah, what did _he_ do?" Jason said with a smirk as Percy bashed and grunted at the partially dismembered decoy. Percy jumped in surprise and nearly dropped his sword. Jason held up his hands in surrender. "Yikes, sorry, man. Didn't mean to scare you."

Percy was dripping with sweat like he'd been here a while despite the early hour. He capped Riptide and ran his hand over his face. He looked tired, like he hadn't gotten much sleep either.

"What're you doing down here?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Percy shrugged. "Couldn't sleep I guess."

"Me neither."

"Gods, I can't stop thinking about that stupid prophecy." He kicked at a shield that lay in the dirt by his feet, sending it skittering across the arena floor and clanging into the wall.

"I know. I had started to think we might actually be done with them until Rachel showed up," Jason sighed.

Percy laughed. "Yeah, like that'll happen. Ever."

"Oh, there you are." Annabeth walked casually onto the floor behind them. "Chiron, I found them!" she called. "Come on. Meeting. Now."

…

Everyone was already waiting inside the Big House when Jason, Percy, and Annabeth arrived.

Chiron's horse half was out of his wheelchair as he stood in the center of the room. Everyone else was standing too, apparently too intimidated sitting down eye level with a horse's chest.

He nodded as they walked through the door and clasped his hands before him.

"Alright, now that we're all rested, shall we continue our little chat from last night?"

No one moved to speak. No one showed any desire to talk about the prophecy.

Chiron sighed and said, "Rachel, any more dreams?"

She shook her head almost sadly. Jason felt sorry for her. He wondered if she did dream anymore, ever since she took on the oracle - normal dreams that is, not prophetic ones.

Beside him, Percy shifted his feet and put his hand in his pocket where he kept Riptide. Annabeth seemed to notice his apparent discomfort and reached for his hand, worry briefly crossing her face.

"I…I had a dream last night." He said the words like he didn't really know what he was saying, like someone else was feeding them to him and he was doing his best to pronounce each one carefully.

Chiron leaned forward. "Yes, Percy?"

"It was like what Rachel described," he began. "The palace, Poseidon's palace in the Atlantic, and the…the voice and the lights." Percy described the two titan gods, Oceanus and Koios, and their apparent plan to overthrow Olympus and wipe out humanity with the sea. When he was finished there was silence. No one knew what to say. Percy had just singlehandedly translated at least half of the prophecy.

They now knew who was going to rise and where they were hiding. Although, as Jason thought about it, realistically that wasn't a whole lot. They would still need a plan, know who was going, and figure out a million other things that the ancient verse talked about like _a forgotten goddess_ and the _veil of light_ the world was supposed to shed.

All Percy's insight really meant was that they were one step closer to danger.

"Percy, you are sure it was _Koios_ you saw? It could've been no one else? Perhaps it just looked like the titan you met before?" Chiron asked Percy like his answers would determine whether or not they would all survive. Which of course they did, but no one would say that out loud.

"Yes," Percy said stiffly. "Oceanus said his name."

Chiron and Annabeth looked at each other and shared a private conversation.

Jason imagined it went a little like this :

Annabeth - _Really? Could that be right?_

Chiron - _Yes, I'm afraid it probably is._

Annabeth - _But didn't we think before that it was…_

Chiron - _Yes, yes I know. Now let's just be thankful we were wrong and continue this conversation aloud._

"Percy, they didn't say anything else? Maybe about anyone else who's involved?" Annabeth said.

Percy shook his head. "No, that was it. What I don't get though is how Koios knew I was there."

"Koios can predict the future," Nico said from beside Jason, making him jump. He would _never_ get over how that kid could creep up behind you so quietly. "He's the only one of the Elder Titans who can do it."

Chiron nodded in agreement. "Yes, Koios's clairvoyance probably allowed him to sense your presence, a power which makes him extremely dangerous."

"And if he's convinced this Oceanus to join him, I'm assuming that's not a good thing," Piper jumped in.

"No," Annabeth said. "It's not. Oceanus is the titan of the sea. He ruled all bodies of water before Poseidon. He's usually neutral, but he's been convinced before to join in a fight."

"Yeah, like when he fought my dad the last time. Kronos convinced him to go against the Olympians and he got a whole army of monsters to help him at Poseidon's palace. But he retreated again when Kronos lost."

"So Oceanus likes to choose the winning team," Frank said. "Koios must've made a good offer then."

"He said something about how the oceans would rule the world again, maybe Koios told him he'd be given a lot of new territory or something?"

"Maybe, but this is all very important to think about," Chiron said. "And as I have thought about it, the prophecy that is, I believe we may know who at least one other on the quest should be."

"Annabeth," Percy said confidently.

Annabeth squeezed his hand.

"Percy, I know we…"

"Yes. Annabeth. The line is clear : _The ocean's wisdom shall be forged_. I believe this is more than just a statement of fact. It is a reference to Athena and Poseidon working together."

"Okay, so if 'the ocean' is Poseidon and 'wisdom' is Athena, then maybe the last part of the line is telling us who the third person is supposed to be," Rachel said hopefully.

Piper and Jason looked at each other. They were both thinking the same thing, but it was either impossible or a sign that the quest was doomed before they'd even left camp.

"Leo."


	8. VIII Hazel

**HAZEL**

Rachel Elizabeth Dare had been standing at the mess hall in Camp Jupiter for an hour before Hazel, Frank, and Reyna arrived from the Senate House.

She saw them and began to walk briskly over to them, meeting them halfway.

"Reyna, what has been decided?"

The praetor looked at her uncertainly, then to Frank.

"I believe it is the right course of action."

"But what if the others don't agree? I mean it does sound a little ridiculous. Getting the oracle here to decipher the books and having her leave three hours in?" Frank said.

Reyna looked thoughtful. "Yes, we'd have to make it more realistic if they're to let you go easily."

"What is that supposed to mean? I know what I saw and I'm telling you, it's coming soon! If they don't trust me then that's their problem. You two are like their bosses right? So let me go." Rachel was beginning to lose her patience.

"I wish it were that simple, but unfortunately we must have a vote within the Senate. It must be unanimous."

Rachel scowled and drummed her fingers against her side. She raised her hands in defeat. "So what are we going to do? I know I have got to get back to Camp Half Blood, that's not an option."

"Wait at least through tomorrow. Perhaps if we make it look like you're gleaning more from the prophecies while you're actually here at the camp they'll follow us."

"And if not?"

"If not, then we'll just have to figure something else out. But let's hope it doesn't come to that."

Rachel nodded in hesitant agreement to the plan and the four of them walked into the mess hall.

* * *

The next day passed surprisingly quickly. Hazel wandered around the camp, just as disoriented as everyone else and still weary from the long journey back.

Rachel accompanied her for most of the day, only disappearing to speak with Ella about her plan to leave before reappearing at Hazel's side. It was like she was trailing her, not wanting to leave Hazel out of her sight incase they might go back without her.

Reyna called together another Senate meeting to which Rachel and Hazel were invited.

They made their way to the massive Senate House and entered beneath the archway, Rachel looking around in awe as she tried to take in every detail as they passed.

"This way." Hazel led Rachel to the great dome-ceilinged room where the senate had already gathered.

They were invited to sit and the meeting was begun.

"You all know why we are here," Reyna said, eyeing each of the senators in turn. "Our oracle wishes to return to Camp Half Blood after only a short time with us. She believes she has gleaned important information from Ella that must be given directly to the others in person. Who would like to speak against this?"

The centurion named Hank raised his hand. "I don't doubt what she says, I simply do not see the need to send her all the way back across the country. Why can she not transmit some kind of message to them instead? Speak to them that way?"

"I already have." Rachel stood from the table. "But I must speak to them all in person. It is the only way we can be sure they will understand and listen."

Hank shook his head and sat down again, unimpressed.

"Who would accompany you?" Brandon took his turn to speak now. "You can't possibly go back all that way on your own."

Rachel looked to Reyna for an answer.

"Hazel and Frank would go with her."

The eight other senators and Frank all stared at her in disbelief.

"Of course we would," Hazel jumped in. "We have friends back in Camp Half Blood and if this _thing_ that Rachel is talking about is going to effect us, we can be sure it'll effect them too. We have to stand together."

"But Camp Jupiter with only one Praetor? Again?" Dakota said, even he skeptical of the idea. "I mean, no offense Reyna, you did an awesome job, but so soon after a battle couldn't that be a little risky? The camp will need to organize and we'll need the extra leadership."

"We did well enough with one Praetor before. It will simply be like we never stopped. If the Greeks showed us one thing, it is that we must rethink our strategies. We _must_ collaborate again, despite some of our personal beliefs. Shall we vote? All in favor of sending Praetor Zhang, Hazel, and the Oracle back to Camp Half Blood?"

Nine of the ten hands went up, Hank folding his arms uncomfortably across his chest. A harsh look from Dakota and an elbow from Brandon and he raised his hand too.

"Very good. Praetor," Reyna said, turning to Frank. "You will leave as soon as you are ready."

Frank nodded and followed Rachel and Hazel out of the Senate House. They looped around the lawn in silence, until finally Rachel said, "I'll Iris message Chiron. Let him know we'll be coming."

And with that she disappeared to a fountain across the courtyard.

"Not much of a welcome home," Frank said.

"Did you expect one?" Hazel asked.

Frank shrugged. "No, I guess not. But something would've been nice."

Hazel smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Your new status hasn't gone to your head already, has it?"

"What?" Frank exclaimed, worry spreading across his face. "No! No, I -"

Hazel laughed. It was too easy to fluster him. He never wanted to do anything wrong. If his status of Praetor had done anything, it hadn't made him over confident.

His expression softened as he realized she'd been joking and he began to laugh as well.

"We'd better get packing then."

* * *

It took them not hardly as long as it should have to gather all of the supplies they'd need for the return (return) journey. Much was still crated up and sitting abandoned in front of the barracks and mess hall, so finding what they needed was easy.

No one said anything as the Hazel and Frank picked their way through the camp, removing objects from the boxes as they passed and putting things away when they could.

They were tailed by Don the faun who appeared quite happy to see them all again, though whether or not he was happier to see their _money_ again was unclear.

Within an hour, the three had most of their gear packed and ready to go, and by morning they had set out for a second cross country trip to Camp Half Blood.


	9. IX Leo

**LEO**

Leo hated tag. And he didn't imagine tag with a feather footed god was any more fun. So when Caerus announced the method of their death, Leo was duly excited.

"Why don't we play a little game?"

"Hey man, I'm all for games. You're looking at the gaming master. I'm like, the original _Game Maker_."

"Excellent!" Caerus grinned maniacally. "We shall have some fun before you die!"

Beside him, Calypso gave Leo a look that said _What in Olympus are you doing?_ and he just gave her a reassuring smile.

 _Trust me._

Leo just hoped he could trust himself.

He had no clue what the god had in mind, but he knew it wouldn't be a round of Pac-Man. More than likely, it would be Chutes and Ladders - only minus the board-game piece and with a few deadly twists.

"Let's play."

His mind raced as he grasped for an escape. He looked at the limp body of Festus, still chilled in the shallow water.

The dragon had woken up before - maybe Leo could get it to happen again. He just needed more time.

"Stay right there," Caerus said. "I'll be right back." He turned on his little wings and sped off across the water.

"What's the plan?" Calypso said as soon as Caerus was gone.

"No idea."

She stared at him. "You mean to tell me that you said all that and don't have a plan?"

Leo shrugged. "I'm better at improv than forethought. Let's just say that I'll figure something out."

She groaned. "Wonderful."

Leo turned his attention back to Festus.

"Come on," he said, walking into the water up to his waist and around to the dragon's back. "Help me move him."

It was easier said than done.

Parts of Festus had taken on water and made him even heavier than normal.

Together, they managed to move him a few feet, just enough to get most of his back and head onto the shore. Out of breath, it appeared that they'd get no further and Leo called it good.

He leaned over his friend and opened the hatch. At a loss, he decided to try the fire trick again. It was the most obvious and easiest option, therefore

Leo knew it would probably never work again, but it was worth a shot.

This time, Festus didn't stir. Leo was about to give up and try something else when the bronze began to creak from the change in temperature and the plating shuddered beautiful.

The great dragon _was_ alive, and Leo was determined to wake him up from his nap. Before he could however, Calypso urgently prodded his shoulder. He turned to see Caerus hurtling back towards them, carrying nothing but a length of coiled rope and a tall glass of what appeared to be lemonade.

"Now we are ready!" He took a long swig from the glass and smacked his lips in enjoyment.

"Don't give him any opportunities," Leo muttered.

"Is that a joke?" Calypso whispered.

"Yes and no." Leo marched up to the water's edge to meet the god of

opportunity halfway.

"Lemonade?" Caerus held out his glass.

"Sorry, no thanks. I've never been a fan of lemonade. Even the pink kind. Always seems to be too sweet."

Caerus smirked. "Whatever you say, _Game Maker_." Leo bowed deeply, putting on a show. He had to keep Caerus occupied and as entertained as possible if they were going to make it out of this.

"So what's the game?"

"Oh, it's quite simple. All you have to do is catch me." Caerus fingered the rope and tossed it at Calypso.

"Catch."

Calypso fumbled the bundle but managed to save it, clutching it to her chest as if it might try to escape.

Caerus laughed. "Catching _me_ won't be as easy."

Calypso scowled and gave him a look that said it wouldn't be pleasant if she did catch him.

He downed the last of the lemonade and tossed the empty glass aside. It landed with a _plink_ in the water, the ripples it created glittering strangely.

Leo didn't see it sink to the bottom.

"Shall we begin?"

With a high-pitched squeak, he flapped his wings and rocketed across the lake.

"So we tie him with the rope?" Calypso said sarcastically, holding out the coil.

"Uh-huh, one problem though. We need to catch him first," Leo said, turning back to Festus.

Calypso watched him intently. "What are you doing? We have to get Caerus.

That dragon isn't going to be any help to us now."

Leo didn't answer. It was a long shot, he knew, but like earlier, their lives probably depended on its success. "I have to try."

He set to work warming Festus's body and keeping most of it out of the frigid water. He pulled tools from his belt at random, anything that might do the job. Nothing seemed to be working. He used his fire more than once, desperately willing life into the beast.

Calypso gently placed her hand on his shoulder and tugged for him to get up. "It's no use, Leo. We have to go."

Leo said nothing and slumped back on his knees. He knew she was right. He rose, trying for a smile, and he and Calypso ran after Caerus.

Behind them, something stirred in the water until it erupted into a twenty foot steam filled geyser. They didn't stick around to find out what had made it. Another blast, this time like creaking metal, shot towards them. Leo didn't turn to see what it was. He took Calypso's hand and they plunged into the tree line.

* * *

It didn't take long for them to find Caerus. The babyfaced god was hovering in a small grove of pine trees, swigging lemonade and making a new pitcher from the ripe fruit that was growing on a lush lemon tree.

"I thought lemons grew in the South," Leo said.

Caerus gave a small, disappointed scowl, but didn't answer.

Instead, he stood, actually stood on the ground. His little wings had stopped moving Leo noticed and now the man's feet shifted uncomfortably on the dirt, unaccustomed to its feel.

"Have you come up with a _wonderful_ plan to capture me, then?" He sounded pleased and a bit bored with the prospect. Leo suspected he'd heard plenty of _wonderful_ plans before.

"No," Leo said simply.

" _No_? How do you intend to win if you have no plan?"

Leo shrugged and didn't answer.

"Very well, let's see how well you can play then." Immediately, the lemon tree began sprouting leaves and fruit at random, long vines creeping down from its branches.

The tendrils crawled along the ground, headed straight for Leo and Calypso. Leo began blasting them with fire, sending them shriveling back to the tree.

Caerus shot by them, tapping Leo roughly on the shoulder before swiveling midair and stopping a few hundred feet away.

"I guess I'm it," Leo grumbled. The god was fast though, and Leo couldn't figure how they were possibly going to lasso him with their little rope.

Meanwhile, the vines continued to grow around them, tripping them at every turn. They decided to approach Caerus, though every time they got close, he flew past them again and stopped just out of reach.

Soon, there were more vines twisting their way beneath their feet than Leo could keep at bay. Some must have been learning, because his hands were quickly bound as soon as he let his guard down. Now Caerus stopped and sat down on a branch of his lemon tree.

The vines looped around Leo until his legs and arms were tightly constrained. Stray leafy tendrils seemed to lose their way as he and Calypso were consumed, and, in an effort to look useful, entangled themselves amongst the rocks and tied each other up instead of their captives.

Caerus either didn't notice or didn't care.

Leo didn't point it out.

He found it curious though, how the seemingly alive plant-life was so indiscriminate about what it clung to. He realized that Caerus only had the ability to enchant it. The god couldn't actually control what it did, or _who_ it tied up.

 _Maybe_ , Leo thought. But he'd need Caerus to come closer.

"So that thing was about you?"

"What?" Caerus scowled in confusion.

"You know, the whole _When life gives you lemons, make lemonade_." The vines around Leo's waist loosened ever so slightly.

Caerus nodded slowly.

"Huh. Never cared much for lemons. Why wasn't it like, oranges or something? Or bananas? _Got some bananas, make yourself a banana split_."

Caerus sighed and rubbed his face like he'd just woken up from a bad dream, or into one. "Because. People already like oranges. And _lemons_ has a nice ring to it. Stop asking questions. You are annoying." The vines tightened but relaxed just as quickly, as if they couldn't make up their mind. They acted as if _they_ were annoyed with Leo too. Leo kept talking.

"Tell me about it, man. Sometimes I annoy _myself_. But I'm not complaining. I think I'm pretty great. I just love to hear myself talk is all. Is that really so bad?"

"Yes."

"But they're all like, _Shut up, Leo_ , and _Just stop and fly the dragon,_ and I'm just like, _Hey guys, it's all chill -_ "

"Dragon?" Caerus looked up from his lemonade.

"Oh yeah, Festus. I made him, but too bad he's broken now. We crashed." Leo put on the saddest, most devastated expression he could muster.

Caerus must have bought it.

While he was distracted, the vines continued to loosen around Leo until he was able to wriggle his hands out of his bonds. The god turned away, oblivious and obviously annoyed that he'd shown any interest.

"So what do you plan to do with us?"

"Let you die," Caerus said simply. "Slowly, of course. Death from lost opportunity is always the best death. The slowest. You don't realize you're dying from it until you're practically standing at Judgement." He stepped closer as he spoke, until eventually he was staring Leo in the face from three feet away. There was no way it was this easy.

"Ah, got it." Leo took up the vines that had gone slack and held them at the ready. "But you see, I'm not dying from lost opportunity."

"Yes, that's what they all say."

"I've taken every one I've been handed." Before Caerus saw Leo's trap, Leo threw the vines at the god. Caerus's panic fed them, making them grow longer and loop tighter than before, entangling the god and leaving him struggling beneath a heap of lemon leaves and plump fruit.

Leo stood back and admired his work. He helped Calypso free herself and torched a few vines that tried to snare them again.

"So what now?" Calypso said, brushing leaves from her hair. "How do we get out of here?"

She was answered by a massive creak, like the world's largest revolving door was in need of a good oiling.

Festus sprang from the tree line, smoke billowing behind him like some great bronze angel falling to earth.

Leo grinned. "That, Sunshine, would be how we get out of here."


	10. X Jason

**JASON**

Jason couldn't understand what he and Piper had said any more than the others could.

"Guys," Annabeth said. "I know you want to believe that Leo's…that any of this…" She looked for someone else to finish her thought.

"We all do," Percy said, coming to her rescue.

"Does anyone have any other ideas?" Chiron said abruptly, steering the conversation back to the quest.

"It does sound like a reference to Hephaestus," Frank said quietly. Chiron began to pace around the room, an interesting sight with his four legs, and stroked his beard as he thought.

Before he could speak again however a massive roar resounded throughout the Big House. The seven demigods reached for their weapons.

"What now," Percy groaned.

Suddenly, the door to the old farm house burst open and Conner Stoll fell into the room, making the whole group jump.

"Jason…fire…dragon," he panted.

"Conner, what's going on?" Piper said, panic in her voice.

"Wasn't me…Leo." Conner pointed urgently toward the lake where they could just make out a glint of bronze and a plume of smoke.

* * *

They ran at full speed through the throng of confused campers that had begun to congregate around the beach. Some moved out of the group's way and Chiron tried to corral the rest away from the scene.

"No way," Jason breathed when he saw Festus the dragon snuggling down beneath the water. He clicked contentedly and blew a small, steamy geyser with his nose.

" _Really?_ Couldn't you have put us down first _?_ " Leo stumbled over Festus's foot, drenched from their watery landing, his hair plastered to his face. He didn't seem to notice all the campers staring awestruck at him.

Festus clicked at his master affectionately and submerged again.

"Leo?" Jason said weakly. His throat felt dry. Leo looked up and around, finally realizing the presence of almost all of Camp Half Blood.

He grinned and stepped out of the lake, shaking the water from his shoes.

"Hey! What'd we miss?"

Jason struggled for words. Even Piper seemed to be having trouble finding what to say.

"But you…you were…," he finally managed.

"Dead? Yeah, I know, man, but that Physician's Cure really works. Quick pit stop on the east coast and here we are!" Leo gasped and spun around, disappearing again behind Festus.

"Why does he keep crashing in _water_?" an angry voice sputtered.

"Ha - well we _landed_ this time so…"

" _In water?_ "

"You alright?" Leo said calmly.

"Yes."

"Okay then."

Leo reappeared, this time with a very tired, very angry looking girl. She was the most beautiful girl Jason had ever seen. Besides Piper of course.

Why there was a girl with back-from-the-grave-Leo at all was overshadowed by the fact that Leo had his arm around her shoulders and was doing his best to help her onto shore while she glared at the dragon basking in the water.

Jason didn't know what to say, but he noticed that both Chiron and Percy did a double take when they saw Leo's friend. He got the impression it wasn't because of her good looks.

"Everyone back to their activities," Chiron ordered, cantering around the crowd and shooing them away from Festus. "You'll all get to see our friends later I'm sure. Away with you now."

Campers grumbled their disappointment. Some tried to linger and catch a glimpse of the newcomer, but they were quick to leave upon Chiron's stern gaze.

"Leo, why don't you and your friend come up to the Big House."

Leo nodded and followed Chiron.

The rest of the group exchanged uncertain glances and Jason led them all back up the hill.

Inside, Chiron motioned for them all to sit. "My dear, why don't you go down the hall and clean yourself up," he said, turning to the girl. She said nothing and followed his direction. When she was out of sight, Chiron looked to Leo. "What happened?"

While Leo told his story, the rest of the group stared at him like they still couldn't believe he was there. He paused a few times, either for dramatics or because he was trying to remember, it was hard to tell. Part way through, the girl, Calypso, returned, even more beautiful than before now that her hair was brushed out and her face was free of mud.

She nodded politely to all of them and took a seat beside Leo. Jason noticed she'd made eye contact with all but Percy.

When Leo finished, the silence persisted.

"So, Festus brought you back to life, you flew to an imaginary island, picked up a goddess, and crash landed in Maine before showing up here." It sounded even more ridiculous when Jason summed it up.

"Yup, sounds about right." Leo turned to Hazel and Frank. "So what are you two still doing here? All the Romans are gone aren't they? Or did you two finally come to terms with Greek superiority?"

"Ha - no, not quite," Frank said, glancing at the others uncomfortably.

"What's going on?"

"We have a prophecy," Rachel said. "And I think we now know the answer to our question."

"What was the question? And wasn't the whole Prophecy thing out? Or has it been reinstated?"

"It's not exactly from the Oracle," Jason said. "It's from the Sibylline books."

"The things Ella memorized?"

Jason nodded.

"So, we have a quest is what we're saying. Please tell me I'm wrong. I'd like so much to be wrong."

"Unfortunately no," Chiron said from his corner, his arms folded across his chest. "It speaks of three heroes that must stop the titans Koios and Oceanus."

"But they can have help," Percy said. "It says that we have to have help if we're going to succeed."

"We," Leo said numbly.

"You, me, and Annabeth."

"Right. Of course, fire, water, and wisdom. Perfect combo."

"It refers to Poseidon, Athena, and Hephaestus in the prophecy," Frank said. "It has to be you three."


	11. XI Hazel

**HAZEL**

Leo's appearance came as a shock to everyone, though Hazel had to admit that it was more of one for her than she'd expect.

It was strange. When she looked at him, his scruffy hair and bright, mischievous eyes, he reminded her so much of his great-grandfather, Sammy it was scary.

But she'd gotten over all that - hadn't she?

Part of her knew she never would. Part of her would always be stuck in 1900's Louisiana.

She tried to concentrate of the present. That was always the only thing that could keep her together.

Beside her, Frank glanced her way and took her hand. Either he could sense her discomfort or he was uncomfortable himself.

Hazel decided to go with the first option.

She watched as Leo took in what Percy had said. He clearly didn't like the idea, and Hazel couldn't blame him. She would surely feel the same, and Leo had been through much more than she had.

"So, we've got an oceanic threat. No boat," Leo said, breaking her thoughts. "We're getting there how?"

No one spoke and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Clearly, none of them had considered this small hitch in the quest.

"How long do you think it would take to build another ship? The _Argo III_." Jason spoke slowly as if afraid of Leo's answer.

"I don't know if the ocean is a good travel option," Percy interjected. "With Gaea, we had to avoid the earth, remember? With this, Oceanus being the titan of _water_ and all, we might want to pick something else."

It made sense. Hazel noticed as Jason shifted on his feet, making a face like he felt stupid for even making the suggestion. Of course they couldn't travel by boat. That'd be suicide.

"So, air it is then?" she asked.

* * *

Annabeth was the one to figure out the last pieces of the prophecy.

"There's going to be an eclipse," she said the next morning, racing up to where Hazel, Jason, and Percy were sitting sleepily on the Dining Pavilion steps.

"Huh?" they all said in unison.

" _A veil of light the world shall shed,_ " she recited. "There's an eclipse due in a month, September twenty-third. That's our deadline."

The three stared at her groggily, only half understanding her discovery.

"So we need to leave soon is what you're saying." Hazel didn't like the sound of an eclipse. There was something foreboding about the idea of the moon blocking out the sun.

"Can I eat breakfast first?" Percy said.

"Yeah, and lunch maybe," Jason added. "In fact, can we just stay for dinner too?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You two are impossible."

"Hey, we need our nourishment."

"So, there's only one more piece we don't know now," Hazel said, bringing the conversation back to the quest.

"Actually, I have a hunch about that one too." Annabeth paused and looked at Percy. "Calypso."

Everyone looked at her in surprise. But, as Hazel thought about it, it began to make sense.

"She is forgotten, if you consider that the gods literally _forgot_ about her and no one really knows she exists anymore."

"So you're saying maybe she's meant to come with us? Maybe something happens to break her immortality."

Annabeth nodded.

"We need to tell the others," Jason said.

"About the eclipse, yes," Percy agreed. "But we might want to keep the whole 'dying goddess' thing to ourselves for now."

"I agree. Leo would never let Calypso go if he knew she might be in danger," Hazel said. The last thing she wanted to do was lie to Leo, but she also knew that Percy was right.

"Well, I mean, technically we're _all_ in danger but," Jason muttered. "I gotcha."

There was no further objection - well, too little that is for anyone to say no.

"So we leave in the morning?" Annabeth said.

"Let's rally the troops."


	12. XII Percy

**PERCY**

Blackjack did not like their plan.

The pegasus shook his head and nickered in protest as Percy brought him up to speed on the quest, speaking softly and doing his best to keep the winged horse calm.

 _Boss, hey boss. You know who Oceanus is, right?_

 _Yeah, he's the sea titan._

 _Exactly, so, I don't wanna be a downer here, but he ain't gonna like us very much will he?_

 _No but all you have to do is get us there - we're doing the fighting, you're doing the flying. And have you ever met an enemy that liked us? Or that we haven't been able to beat?_

 _Well, no, I guess - except for that one time with the -_

 _Okay then! See? All good._

The other pegasi weren't too hot on the idea either, but they trusted Percy and they eventually softened.

The flock clustered together on the beach, Blackjack and Porkpie whinnying encouragement to the others. Percy returned to Cabin three to gather his pack and supplies as the sun slipped noiselessly over Camp Half Blood.

The group had been allowed an early breakfast before their departure, and Percy joined them at the Dining Pavilion.

The whole group sat together.

Their places at the table, the same order in which they'd sat on the Argo II, Percy noticed, placed Leo, and therefore, Calypso, directly across from Percy. He did his best to avoid eye contact with her, not completely comfortable with the idea of her tagging along on this quest.

But Leo looked happy having her beside him, and Percy didn't really have a _problem_ with her. He kept his mouth shut and ate his breakfast.

They managed to scarf down several stacks of pancakes and two loaves worth of toast much to quickly. None of them wanted to leave such good food behind.

On their last quest, they had had the _Argo II_ to provide them with literally whatever they wanted.

This time around, all they would have were what they could carry in their packs and what they ate now. They'd have to make it last.

They were done sooner than Percy'd have liked.

"Everyone ready?" he half-heard Jason said monotonically, clear that he wasn't himself but was asking anyway.

"Nope," Percy said brightly. "So let's go."

* * *

They got to the beach expecting to see the eight pegasi standing nervously in the sand.

Instead, they found eight pegasi pacing nervously back and forth in the surf, doing circles in cautionary avoidance of the four massive bronze feet, tail, and head of one Festus the dragon.

"Uh," Percy said. "So, he definitely wasn't here before."

He did his best to calm the horses, all of which were yelling frantically in his head in a panic.

 _Get him out of here! He tried to burn my tail!_

 _He_ did _burn mine! Please, son of the sea god, please don't let him near us!_

"Hey, Leo? Think you can do something about him? He's kind of freaking the pegasi out."

"Oh yeah, sure. Sorry. Festus! Come on, go over there and leave the poor little horsies alone."

Festus followed Leo's direction and trudged clumsily off down the beach.

 _Pool little horsies?_ someone neighed angrily. Several pegasi stamped their hooves and flapped their wings in protest.

"He didn't mean it!" Percy said quickly, not wanting to have to get a trampled Leo pancake out of the sand.

After some more sweet-talking, the pegasi were back under control and ready to go.

Leo insisted that he ride Festus instead and found no complaints from the others.

"Yeah, I for one would like a dragon on our side," Jason grinned.

"Technically, we'd have two," Frank said, raising his hand.

"Okay then, well, one of you can head back to stable then," Percy said to the eight pegasi who were now shifting confusedly on their hooves.

He regretted his words as soon as they were out of his mouth.

All of the pegasi raised their heads in excitement and eight voices echoed simultaneously in his head, vying for the chance to stay behind.

"Okay! Okay, never mind. I'm picking then."

He singled out the smallest of the group, a wild-eyed, skittish pegasus named Oleander who looked like he might pass out from fright at any second. Better to not have someone dropping out of the sky halfway across the ocean, he figured.

 _Thank you, thank you, thank you, lord_ , he said meekly.

The animal bowed his head timidly and avoided the others' eyes as he trotted gracelessly down the beach and flew back towards the stables.

"Okay, everyone ready then?"

There were a few stray nickers of complaint about Festus coming with them, and some backed up down the beach angrily.

"Great! Okay. All good. Everyone pair up." _The dragon won't eat you, I promise_ , he added, only to the pegasi. They still didn't seem convinced, but they snorted in submission and allowed their demigods to load them with their packs.

They mounted up, Percy on Blackjack, and together took off toward the sea.


	13. XIII Leo

**LEO**

Leo was now, totally _done_ with water.

On the return to Camp Half Blood he had at least had something to look forward to when he reached his destination.

This time, setting back out across the ocean, all he could look forward to was conflict and potential destruction.

Not his idea of a night out.

 _Maybe_ , he thought. _Oceanus and Koios will decide not to go through with the whole 'let's destroy humanity' gig and they'll all just have a nice lunch together and return to camp in one piece._

He leaned his head on Festus and sighed. Why did he have to do that? He thought up stupid scenarios of the ideal ending, knowing they couldn't possibly come true, and then beat himself up when a part of him still held onto those hopes.

Beside him, a grey speckled pegasus with dark, coppery wings glided close to Festus. He bobbed his head uncertainly but calmed down the moment his rider started speaking in soft tones and stroking his neck soothingly.

Leo was happy Calypso was there, but if he was honest, he hadn't really wanted her to come. Her uncertainty about her immortality status worried him; he didn't want to take any chances.

Nevertheless, she looked completely comfortable aboard her pegasus, and he knew he'd be in major trouble if he voiced his concerns.

She smiled as she came level with him, putting him just slightly at ease.

There was nothing for him to worry about for now, at least. They had to get to Oceanus before the real fun could begin.

For the most part, the eight traveled in silence, only speaking to ask either Percy or Leo their heading depending on who was awake at the time.

They took turns resting, though the most sleep any of them got was topped off at an hour due to nerves and level of pegasus (or dragon) stability. At some point, Leo had no idea how long into their journey, Percy instructed them to land.

"There's a dock about a mile away and the pegasi are tired. We can stop for a while, grab some food," he said, through over the roar of the wind that had picked up, only Annabeth and Jason could hear him properly.

They passed the message on to the others and they all fell in line behind Blackjack, descending to the ocean below.

* * *

The "dock" looked like it hadn't been used in years.

It consisted of a row of black, water-eroded boards held together by a few rusted nails and bungee cords, and dangled precariously atop four beams about ten feet over the water.

Leo was pretty sure he spotted some rainbow patterned duct-tape looped around the posts, beneath which he imagined there was nothing but saw dust to hold the thing up.

It creaked threateningly as the first few pegasi touched down, prompting the others to cautiously set their hooves down first while still hovering over it.

Leo avoided it completely, more than positive that Festus would bring the whole thing down, and landed safely on the gravel that followed the dock.

It let out to a larger area of the chunked stone, _a parking lot_ , Leo thought. He still wondered what the Mist disguised Festus as. A giant bulldozer or construction crane, maybe. That'd be kind of cool.

He slid off the dragon's back and surveyed their surroundings. "So where are we?"

"East Florida coast," Percy said. "My dad's palace used to be somewhere out here - still is, or, at least what's left of it. He rebuilt rather than repairing this one after the second Titan War. Now Oceanus has claimed it for himself." He said all this in a kind of daze, as though he was trying not to think too hard about it. Leo realized that the whole thing must have bothered Percy a lot more than he'd thought.

"So, we'll just have to kick him out," Leo said. "Teach him what happens when you take things that aren't yours."

"That's the plan," Percy smiled. Then he said something to the pegasi, probably telling them to stay nearby and rest up, and they began to unpack their supplies.

Frank, Hazel, and Nico volunteered to scout the area, make sure there were no nasties or mortals nearby, and the others set about going through the food they'd packed.

"Hey Leo," Jason said, tossing aside a plastic baggie of granola bars. "Remember when we ran into Medea and spent the night in a tunnel?"

"I like the way you think, my friend," Leo grinned. Piper remained silent but smirked at the two boys.

Annabeth, Percy, and Calypso exchanged confused glances before turning to see what Leo and Jason had in mind.

They waited for Frank, Hazel, and Nico to return, reporting nothing but a few squirrels and birds populating the area, before breaking out Leo's magic tool belt.

They feasted on hamburgers and curly fries, and having the group together in the middle of the desolate parking lot made it feel much like the cookout Leo, Jason, and Piper had had so long ago when they'd first met.

It wasn't quite what they'd become accustomed to, but it was certainly nothing to complain about. They stuffed their faces with the greasy food and could almost imagine they were back aboard the Argo II, on their way into danger, laughing over stupid jokes and good memories.

Darkness descended quickly, night encompassing the harbor as they finished off the meal.

Percy volunteered to take first watch. Despite how tired he looked, he claimed to be wide awake and argued that the pegasi were still a little skittish and he wanted to try calming them down some more.

Annabeth said she'd stay up too but Percy insisted she get some rest.

She looked to Leo like she wanted to argue, but Percy's expression told enough for her to drop it.

They bedded down on gravel, the glow of the firelight and the heat of the summer breeze across the parking lot lulling Leo to sleep faster than he was prepared for.


	14. XIV Jason

**JASON**

Jason did not appreciate being woken up at three in the morning.

He especially did not appreciate being woken up by a crazy, critical god.

He was not a morning person. He'd be the first to tell you not to cross him if he was woken unexpectedly at some absurd hour as he was this morning. Therefore, when Piper shook his shoulders violently to get him up, he was appropriately annoyed.

It took a moment for his brain to put together what he was seeing.

The seven pegasi were running in circles, doing their best to avoid demigods in their panic. Jason couldn't see whatever it was they were trying to get away from.

They stopped for a moment, looking around them for whatever had spooked them. Many snorted in what seemed like relief when suddenly, their eyes turned wild again and they scattered, bucking and flapping their wings uncontrollably.

Leo was chasing Festus, dodging his swinging tail and fire as the dragon beat his wings furiously.

Percy and Annabeth had drawn their swords but were looking around groggily. Like Jason, they had clearly just been woken up and were no more aware of what was going on than him.

Pieces of paper were flying through the air as if propelled by some spontaneous gale, chasing anything that moved and threatening to give the worse paper cuts ever.

Frank had his bow out, pinning a sheet here and there to the trees and making others plow into the ground.

Nico was slashing wildly, black stygian iron a dark streak as it sliced through the crinkled pages that dared come too close to the son of Hades.

Something blew by Jason and suddenly he was knocked back down to his knees.

Percy landed hard next to him, now looking more angry than confused, and groaned as he tried to get up.

"A storm would be nice right about now," he said.

"On it." Jason scrambled to his feet and dodged a mass of paper that was hurtling toward his head, ducking down and rolling out of the way. He focused all his energy on the wind that was already billowing around them. He willed it to concentrate away from their camp and be pushed out to sea.

Jason could feel the pressure becoming a knot in his gut, building up and tightening against the strength of the force he was trying to redirect. It was fighting him as though someone else was controlling it and trying to redirect _him_.

He pushed harder, determined to find a break.

He felt the wind shift in his direction, pulling him forward as if the force had staggered and lost its footing.

A small cyclone had formed around him, growing bigger with every moment Jason fought, but he didn't notice it. Now it collapsed, pushing all the excess air away from him and out to sea.

The paper continued to fly as it started to settle, floating down to the ground and littering the gravel with pockets of tarnished yellow.

He stood panting and exhausted, turning back to the others only when Percy spoke.

"Yup, that was a storm."

Jason gave a small bow and stumbled a few steps before sitting down. "What in Olympus happened?"

Frank and Hazel sighed. They had been on guard duty when the chaos had ensued. "No idea," Frank said. "One second, we heard this big gust of wind, the next, all the pegasi started freaking out."

"We thought maybe they'd heard something or been scared by the wind, but then all those sheets of paper came flying at us out of nowhere."

"They had to have come from somewhere," Jason said. "Someone has to have sent them. It felt like the wind was fighting me, trying to push me back like someone else was controlling it too."

"Oh, so you are mildly intelligent, aren't you, Jason Grace?" The voice was so abrupt and so harsh that it startled Jason more than it should have. It seemed to resonate across the parking lot, over the water, seeping into ever pore in Jason's body and filling him with a deep disgust.

He spun around, looking for the speaker, only to see Piper still standing behind him.

"Oh come now, son of Zeus," the voice taunted, this time from the other direction. "Won't you _blow me away_?"

"Jupiter, actually," Jason mumbled, turning toward it, Nico standing there instead looking as confused and startled as the rest of them.

"Who are you?" Jason yelled, annoyance slipping into his voice. "Show yourself!"

"Oh alright, alright. Calm down before you lose control." The air in front of Jason shimmered for a brief second, or rather seemed to move in a series of dull shades of grey as a little man poofed into existence.

He looked to Jason like some crazy god was having too much fun with a book on mythology and pulled pieces from a bunch of different monsters to create him.

From the waist up he resembled a satyr, little horns protruding from his thinning, grey hair, a stocky build, and, minus his blue skin, he could've fit in nicely at Camp. Where the hairy hindquarters of a goat should have been however was a thick, dark scaled tail. All of this was hovering half a foot off the ground, suspended between two large black wings.

He bent over, not something that looked easy for him, and snatched up a small, white object that Jason didn't think had been there earlier.

He dusted it off, inspecting it as if he weren't quite impressed, and, turning it over in his hands, placed it behind his back.

"Satisfied?" the satyr-fish-bird said, boredom and sarcasm oozing from his voice.

"Who are you?" Jason said, knowing he'd probably regret it.

"Ugh, just like your father, aren't you. All the same." He eyed Piper next, still standing behind Jason with her cornucopia out. "And you would be an Aphrodite brat. She was bad too. Always talked too much, that one."

"Cause you don't," Percy piped up, his knuckles white around his swords' handle.

"Ah, yes. A son of Poseidon. Hot-headed and arrogant," he sneered.

Percy took a step forward, raising Riptide, but Annabeth grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Athena. Always one for diplomacy. Let's see here, Hades, Hephaestus, Ares…my, my, my, we are an odd group aren't we?"

"You still haven't answered my question," Jason said through gritted teeth. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Who am _I_? Why I am what constitutes your blame, your simpleminded judgements, Jason Grace. I am brother to Misery and son of Night, I am god of poets and critics alike."

Jason looked to the rest of the group. No one moved to say anything.

"Oh surely," the god pulled out his white object again, _a mask_ Jason realized, like one of those happy/sad opera things.

"Wait," Annabeth suddenly looked like she'd had some kind of breakthrough. "I remember you."

" _Really_? How _extraordinary_. Tell me more."

"You're Momus, god of satire."

He said nothing.

Jason didn't recognize the name, but figured it wasn't the first time. They'd just have to figure it out as they went. "Why are you here? What do you want from us?" Jason said.

"Oh, you? I believe you are the one's who intruded on me. I have no use for you, you are a bore and I dislike your parentage. I'd be much happier if you left as quickly as possible. And why am I here? I'm a god. I can be wherever I choose to be. What matter of yours is it?" Momus adopted a suspicious and irritated expression. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"We're on a quest," Jason said simply, knowing he probably shouldn't reveal their purpose to a god - especially one like Momus was turning out to be, but for some reason he had the inexplicable need to prove his worth.

"Oh, a _quest_! How noble, how wonderful for you. That is, after all, the only way you demigods can prove yourselves, by making yourselves out to be more than you are."

"Maybe you should _let_ us prove ourselves before you go around making judgements," Nico said abrasively taking everyone by surprise. Nico never tried to pull attention - if anything, he should be attempting to stay unnoticed.

Momus gave a sickly smile. He seemed to enjoy how aggravated they were all becoming. "Perhaps I will, son of Hades, perhaps I will. We must be patient, mustn't we?" He spoke with a condescending tone, and he seemed to know he was getting under Nico's skin. "A competition," he continued excitedly. "Yes, I haven't had a proper competition in centuries. This'll do nicely. You three." He waved a finger through the air at Leo, Percy, and Annabeth. "You will be our competitors. We must stick to tradition, after all."


	15. XV Percy

**PERCY**

"What do you mean?" Percy had come to learn that if a god was 'sticking to tradition,' it was probably not a good thing.

Momus chuckled in respone.

"Your loss for not knowing your history, demigod. Even your Athena friend is unsure. It would appear she is not as wise as she'd like to think."

Percy scowled. He hated it when people called him out for not knowing things - especially when it was a god.

Annabeth didn't look any happier with Momus' remark.

"You judged a competition between the gods," she said potently. "You were too critical so you were thrown off Olympus."

"It's a start," he yawned.

"So what would you have us do?" Percy said.

"You will each create something for me. Something extraordinary. If I am pleased, I'll let you go. Simple."

Percy looked around at the others. "All of us."

"What?"

"You let _all_ of us go."

"Yes, yes, yes. Of course. Now. You have one hour - begin!" He fluttered his wings and poofed away.

"What is he talking about?" Percy said, turning to Annabeth.

"I remember now," she said, her face pale and angry. "Momus mediated a competition between Hephaestus, Poseidon, and Athena back in the old days. Hephaestus created man, Poseidon, a bull, and Athena built a house."

"Very good." Momus had reappeared a few yards away, watching them intently. "Yes, they all thought they were so clever, yet were indeed so flawed. Had _I_ created something it would have been perfect. But, alas, the Olympians didn't appreciate my criticism and I was banished for my truthfulness."

"I don't remember what you thought was wrong with them though," Annabeth said, continuing the conversation as if the god had been there all the while. Percy then wondered if he had been.

He doubted Momus would actually answer, thinking Annabeth may have gone too far, but Momus continued.

"Yes, they were quite small feats. Nothing extraordinary - there was much wrong with them but for one, the man had no way to see inside his heart, his intentions. I merely suggested that a door be installed so that one could see these things. They are quite important you know, seeing how untrustworthy humans are." He glared around the circle.

"Uh, you know that's not really how people work, right?" Leo said quietly.

Momus didn't appear to hear him.

"The bull was inefficient - the eyes should have been lower to allow it to see properly over its horns. And the house, well the house was simply economically unfriendly. Totally un-transportable. Should've had wheels. Wheels make everything better," he mumbled, half to himself.

"Uh, right. So, is our timer still counting down here or have we timed out?" Percy said.

"Oh no, you're down to, let's see - 56 minutes now! But I almost forgot. Can't have any help from little friends. I'll just hang onto them for you until you've finished." Momus snapped his fingers and Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Nico, and Calypso all vanished. "Break a leg!" he yelled, and he disappeared too.

"Awesome," Percy said. "Now we get to fight."

"For now we'd better get thinking," Annabeth suggested. "We only have an hour, and there's a hitch in this game Momus is playing."

"Isn't there always?"

"He can't be satisfied. That's who he is - god of mockery and judgement. There's no pleasing him."

"Well that's great. So we've got an impossible mission here then? So, why are we trying, again?"

"Us competing will please him, or at the very least make him _think_ he's got one over us."

"So it's our job to get one over him," Leo said. "What did you say before, all the gods created separate objects? So Momus'll be expecting that. Why don't we work together? Throw him off?" He said it as if it were the most obvious answer.

"What do you have in mind?"

"I dunno, but it should be something that we can use to fight with. Something that he won't realize until it's too late."

"A trap," Annabeth said. "Leo, you're a genius."

"Ah, gee, don't make me blush," Leo waved bashfully.

Percy laughed. "Okay, Admiral, what's the plan?"


	16. XVI Hazel

**HAZEL**

It was dark, yet Hazel somehow knew she was in a confined space. It was damp and breezy, and there was a smell that crossed somewhere between fresh linen and bad hairspray.

"Ouch!" echoed somewhere to her left.

"Sorry, Piper," Frank's voice said roughly, followed by loud shuffling and grunting as he and four other bodies tried to reposition themselves in the tight space. "Hazel, you good?"

"Yeah, I'm here," she said, her voice sounding too loud. "Nico?"

"Uh huh." His soft voice came from right beside her and she jumped.

"Jason?" Piper said, her movement along the wall still audible.

"Hey! Yeah, I'm here - _right_ here," he yelped in the darkness.

"Oh, sorry."

"Yeah, but where is 'right here,' exactly?" Hazel said, finding a cold wall behind her and running her hand cautiously along its surface.

"Over here," Jason said a little louder. "Oh, yeah, right. You don't mean - yeah. I don't know. Momus' dungeon?"

It was a joke, but the word "dungeon" resonated a little too loudly through the cavern. Hazel shuddered.

"Wherever we are, there has to be an exit," Calypso said. Hazel had almost forgotten she was there. She'd been so quiet on the trip so far, flying near Leo and all but avoiding everyone else.

"Well, _has to_ isn't always a fair assumption," Piper said quietly.

"Everyone search the walls," Hazel said. "Maybe there's a door or a window or something."

They made their way around the room, bumping into one another and moving their feet flat on the ground to avoid stepping on toes.

The surface was stone, that much was clear, and it had a strange texture like it had just been watered down. Hazel reached up and felt towards what she thought was the top of the wall, only to find her hand running across an indentation in the rock.

"Hey, over here."

"Where is 'over here' exactly?" Jason said sarcastically.

"Haha, just stay there. I think I found something." She traced a finger along the mark, a deep gash in the wall that arched down at a sharp angle and back up again, looping at the center and connecting back at the top. There were two small circles in the center and a curved line separate from the rest.

Some of the stone appeared to be loose. It jiggled under her fingertips and crumbled away.

"What the - " A small bit of light bled out of the hole she'd created and grew until it flooded the cavern, coloring the walls green.

"Woah," Jason said, backing up and covering his eyes.

Hazel turned around and faced the interior of the cavern. The stone shimmered eerily in the strange light and she realized that the six of them were trapped inside a small, circular room about eight feet across.

The walls were smooth as glass and almost as reflective, the only disruptions in the face the mark Hazel had found which was now glowing green.

"Cool," Jason said. "Green is supposed to be a calming color, right? Tranquil?"

"Yeah, and it's also the color of every movie villain ever," Nico added cheerfully.

"Well at least now we can see where we're looking. Everyone try searching the walls some more. Maybe there's something else here," Hazel said, trying to be optimistic.

"Who suddenly made you the leader?" Jason said, more aggressively than Hazel liked.

"No one," she said slowly, cautiously.

"Oh, okay. So you've just taken it upon yourself to lead us all to victory, then? That's good. Cause you're _definitely_ the one I'd have chosen." His normally amiable voice was riddled with judgement, his face stoic and irritated.

"Jason, cut it out," Piper said, but he continued to glare in Hazel's direction.

"Lay off her," Frank said through gritted teeth, advancing toward Jason. "She's just as capable of leading as you are and you know it."

"Oh, okay, _Praetor_. Whatever you say."

They looked like they were both getting ready for a fight.

"Okay guys, back it up," Piper said again, her voice more commanding. Hazel saw something in their eyes clear.

Jason and Frank seemed to return to their senses and stepped back from one another.

"I said all that out loud, didn't I?" Jason said. Piper nodded, watching both of them worriedly. "Hazel, I - I'm so sorry. I don't know - "

"It's okay."

"But it wasn't me. I'd never think those things."

Hazel shook her head. "It's this place. I feel it too. It's making us angry. Bringing out our ugliest criticisms."

"Awesome. Becoming a _Mini-Momus_ was exactly what I was hoping would happen today," Piper said, a little too forcefully and she looked shocked as the words left her mouth.

"Definitely," Jason, Nico, and Frank said, much too sincerely.

Nico shook his head as if there were something in his face. "Gods, Piper! Really with the Charmspeak?"

A dark look overcame Piper again. "Well, sorry, Deathboy! I can't always control it!" she spat back.

If looks could kill (no pun intended) Nico's could've wiped out a small town.

"Okay! Why don't we all just stop talking for now? Okay? Okay. Good." Hazel scrambled for ideas. She was open to anything at this point. If they didn't get themselves under control they'd tear themselves apart.

"You all need to learn to control your emotions," Calypso said quietly. She was calmly circling the room inspecting the walls. She didn't seem to be effected at all by the magic.

"Oh yeah? What is an immortal goddess supposed to know about emotional control?" Jason said with a scowl, shifting his feet like a little kid who'd been proven wrong.

"You learn a lot about a lot of things when you're imprisoned on an island for a few thousand years." That shut Jason up. "Just try to block everything out. Tell yourselves it doesn't matter how you feel right now, as long as we find an exit."

Her advice seemed to do the trick. They all turned in silence back to the walls and restarted their search.


	17. XVII Leo

**LEO**

His plan was simple really. It was the execution that would be the hard part. And with only an hour, or, 56 minutes rather, there could be no screw-ups.

"All righty then, he said. "We can do this."

"If you say so," Percy said skeptically.

"Of course we can." Annabeth punched his shoulder. "Leo, what do you need us to do?"

Under normal circumstances, Leo would've preferred to work alone and probably would have told them to get him a double mocha latte and leave him to it.

But these were not normal circumstances and he didn't have the luxury of doing it all himself this time.

Time was ticking.

"Okay," he said, rubbing his hands together. "We'll need wood, lots of it, and water, and see what you can find for rocks and such. Anything solid that could withstand some heat."

"Got it. I'll get the wood," Annabeth said.

"What _is_ it with the water thing?" Percy complained.

"Oh, just do it, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth chided. "We'll meet back here in what? Ten minutes?"

"Yeah, let's be quick. We still have to put it all together. I'll work on the metal components while you're gone. Hopefully they'll be ready when you get back."

Percy and Annabeth nodded and sprinted off in opposite directions, one toward the forest, the other toward - well, hopefully toward water.

Leo unhooked his tool belt and started digging through, praying what he needed would appear.

* * *

Percy and Annabeth returned at the same time, which was conveniently the same time at which Leo finished his project.

The large hunk of metal before him very closely resembled a large Archimedes sphere. When he'd first started to pick apart the originals, he'd considered ticketing with the proportions. Unfortunately he'd never had the chance what with dying and all.

He prayed to Hephaestus this would work.

He saw Percy and Annabeth coming towards him just as he was fitting the top on his creation. "Perfect."

"What the _Hades_ is that?" Percy said as he approached.

"Hopefully functioning," Leo said with a grin.

He pressed a small button on the top of the sphere and was greeted with a loud clanging.

"It's not going to explode, right?" Annabeth knocked Percy on the shoulder but she looked on nervously too.

"No, at least, it shouldn't. I don't think so."

"Oh, that makes me feel _much_ better."

The clanging stopped and two holes opened up along the sides.

"Wood," Leo said, jumping up and turning to Annabeth and the tall stack of roughly chopped tree alongside her. "In that one, and water to the left."

They took turns filling the compartments which, to the surprise of Percy and Annabeth, were much deeper than they appeared to be.

Soon they were done and Annabeth's expression quickly turned from relief to nervousness. "What about the stone? Leo did you get that one?"

He shook his head. He figured when he sent them off that it would be easy enough to find around, but from the small area in which he was working he'd found little. Not nearly enough for their purposes.

"I got some," Percy said, dropping his pack, previously empty but Leo now realized that it sagged with weight, and sent it crashing to the ground with a deep thunk.

Annabeth looked at him in shock.

"What? I can be proactive. No one said they were getting it so I figured if I found anything I'd bring it back," Percy said defensively. Annabeth shook her head as if she still couldn't believe it, but Leo didn't quite think this was the time to contemplate Percy's productivity. They still had work to do.

"Okay, good. So, that can go here, then." Leo pressed another button on he bottom of the Archimedes sphere and, after more clanging, the lower half began to lower from the top. Leo's breath caught for one awful second as he thought the thing had totally separated, though, as he moved it over, it became clear that it was still intact.

They did their best to break up the larger chunks of stone, some strange kind of sediment that was soft like limestone yet looked like granite. It crumbled easily and, when exposed to heat, fuzed quickly together in a shiny, very solid substance.

"I don't know what this stuff is but it's great," Leo said as he sealed up the rest of the sphere and inspected the final product.

"It's certainly not schist," Percy said, cracking a smile and effectively pulling Leo's attention away from his work.

"Come again?" Annabeth said.

"Sorry, inside joke. Couldn't resist." Leo was about to ask him to elaborate when a _pop_ echoed toward them and Momus reappeared.

"Time's up! I hope you're ready," he said in a way that made it clear this was exactly what he did _not_ hope. "Ah, so where are my extraordinary objects?"

"Oh, no. First, where are our friends?" Percy said.

"They're perfectly safe, don't you worry," Momus said, waving away the question.

"Bring them back before we show you what we've made," Annabeth said.

Momus eyed them suspiciously. "Fine." He snapped his fingers and immediately Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Nico, and Calypso appeared, surprise etched on all their faces, their hands in the air as though they'd been rock climbing.

They all looked a little ridiculous, but Leo didn't think it a good moment to comment on it.

"Good," he said instead. "Alright, here you go. The _PercAnnaLeoamatic 3000_!"

Momus stared, awestruck. Then he started to laugh. "But there's only one. You were each meant to build something. You have failed, demigods."

"Ah, yes, about that," Leo said calmly. "You never said we couldn't work together. There _are_ three things here, you just can't see them."

"Well show me then."

"Happy to." Leo pressed a button along the side of the sphere and instantaneously the clanging and internal whirring began. A sulfurous steam began to pour from a hole at the top and the sphere began to separate into three pieces.

Leo looked to Percy and Annabeth, making sure they were ready for what came next. They nodded and Leo set his hand on one of the pieces, attached at the center to the other two. The metal began to heat up, turning red under Leo's touch. He held it until the wood inside began to burn. At the same time, Percy began making the water in the second casing swirl, steaming as it made contact with the hot side of its twin. Underneath this, in the third, larger container, the stone hissed as it fuzed and melted and reformed itself.

"What is this?" Momus hissed, clearly puzzled but not yet suspicious.

"It's like an industrial oven packed into a tiny package," Leo said confidently. "The heat and cooling components double cooking time. And it's portable!" He dropped a tiny lever at the back of two minuscule wheels appeared.

Momus smirked.

"And," Leo continued. "The _PercAnnaLeoamatic 3000_ can make whatever you want. It's advanced demigod technology allows it to take to any mold to create the sturdiest equipment guaranteed!" He stopped. Everyone stared at him, Percy and Annabeth looking both impressed with his speech and nervous that Momus would reject it.

Instead, the god skirted the device, inspecting its many parts, a look of feigned knowing about his face. Leo could tell that he was having trouble coming up with what to say.

"How can you tell when it's complete?" he said. "You should be able to see into it. It is poorly designed."

"Yes, that's an important point and I'm glad you brought it up. See here? This little button? This'll pop up green when it's done. That way you'll never have to worry about missing it."

"Hm." Momus nodded as if he understood exactly how the _PercAnnaLeoamatic 3000_ worked, which of course he didn't considering even Leo wasn't completely sure. Per usual, he was making all this up as he went along.

"And when you're done, you just press that button and it'll finalize the product," he added. "That part is very important. Otherwise, whatever you're making will never turn out right."

Leo opened up the bottom compartment containing the now liquified stone, glossy and mesmerizingly dark, and offered it to Momus. "It'll cool down enough to touch and still be workable," he said. "Have you ever considered getting a new mask? That white one you've got seems a little old. Couple hundred years, maybe?"

"Five-hundred," Momus said. "Yes, a new one might be nice."

 _So he's taking it_ , Leo thought. But now was where it got complicated.

"See, it's cool enough now for you to put something in and have it mold correctly. By just laying your face down, you could easily have a new mask!" Leo put all his enthusiasm into his voice. He knew how crazy it sounded and he was trying his hardest to hide it.

"You first," Momus said with a smile.

 _Hades._ How did he ever think this was going to work?

"It'll work best for a god," Piper said before Leo could think. "And such a god as you are, surely if you try it it will be flawless." Her charmspeak was strong and Leo even believed her, but he saw Momus hesitate. He glanced at the sphere again. Something in his godly head must have believed Piper or his curiosity won out because he bent at the waist to inspect the substance, looking back between it and Leo as if trying to decide to follow Piper's instruction.

Finally, and so quickly that Leo almost missed it, the god plunged the entirety of his face into the black liquid.

"Now wait just a second," Leo said, almost choking on his words. He couldn't believe Momus had actually taken it. "We have to make sure it sets right and then you can come back up."

Some of the goop bubbled quietly around his face, perhaps in excitement of his new mask or realization that this wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Leo pressed the little button which was now flashing green and nodded to Percy who was waiting at the ready to blast the casing with cold water.

Momus grunted as the wave hit him, the stone steaming as it molded to the god's face. He wobbled slightly and pressed himself away from the _PercAnnaLeoamatic 3000_ , only to find that the dark and now shimmering, very solid substance clung to him. His hands moved up to touch it, feeling around the edges and where it met his skin.

"No, no wait. You have to let it sit a minute," Leo said quickly. He had no idea if the mask would stay stuck to Momus or not, but he was pretty sure he didn't want to find out. He motioned for the group to move away from the god and back towards their camp and the pegasi.

They shuffled as quietly as they could and hushed the horses, urging them to stay silent as not to give away what they were doing.

"Huumm arruma," Momus said.

"I hear you, man. You're looking great. Just a few more minutes. It's very fragile right now, one wrong move and the whole thing'll shatter. Try not to move too much and absolutely no touchie." Leo backed up as quickly as he could without crunching gravel too much and hopped onto Festus's back.

Percy patted Blackjack and signaled to the others and they all took off simultaneously from the dock.

"When you feel that it'll come off easily it's ready," Leo called down to Momus and urged Festus up too.

"Urruin - Uri - I think it's working!" Momus sputtered as the lower part of the mask peeled away from his mouth. By the time he got the rest off, Festus was high above him, flying off into the horizon with the others.


	18. XVIII Jason

**JASON**

They continued on their way across the open water, pegasi and dragon still edgy after their encounter with Momus, each giving the occasional nicker of agitation if they got too close to each other. Jason watched on as Frank moved up in the group to fly beside Hazel, his shoulders hunched and his head bent as if he were trying to talk to her, she staring straight ahead and barely registering his presence.

Jason felt guilty. Hazel was right, of course. He hadn't had any control over what he was saying, but even still, he couldn't understand how he had so easily let the words slip out of his mouth.

He hated the way he had felt when he was around Momus, the way they all had felt, for it had clearly been bothering all of them. The demigods were still a little too cautious, a little too quiet.

All that was, except for Leo.

The son of Hephaestus was yammering away about his invention, the _PercAnnaLeoamatic 3000_ as he was calling it.

"Did you all _see_ that?" he repeated for the umpteenth time. "I mean, he totally fell for that. That was some high stylin' improv right there!"

"Proud of yourself, are you?" Jason muttered. Thankfully no one heard him, though Piper threw him a worried glance at his dark expression.

 _I must still be being effected_ , he thought with a sigh. He hated it when he couldn't control his emotions, and this kind of thing seemed to be happening more than usual.

The dark landmass behind them was soon just a distant memory and the sea reverted back to its usual monotony.

"Percy, where are we?" Jason yelled, drawing up beside Blackjack.

"Almost there," he said, though Jason didn't like the grim way he said it. "30°N, 57°W. My father's old palace turned hangout of crazy titans. Ready?"

"Set," Jason shrugged.

"Go." Percy patted Blackjack on the neck and whispered something to him. The pegasus must not have liked whatever his rider said because he shook his head and huffed in protest. Percy nodded to Jason. "Tell everyone we're here and to get ready. We're going to start going down."

Jason turned out, gliding back around to the others and spreading the message. He didn't really know what Percy had in mind, but considering he and Jason were the only two that could last underwater, this was beginning to get much more interesting.

The others looked skeptical but didn't question the supposed plan - perhaps they'd see what Percy was thinking before jumping into the water but they trusted him.

Calypso was the only one who said anything after Jason had gone back to Percy to gather the rest of the plan.

"He _does_ know we can't go in the water, right?" she said, a sneer in her voice.

"Yes, of course he does," Annabeth shot back. "He has a plan and knows what he's doing. We just have to trust him. If you have a problem with that, you can stay up here and do what you do best."

"And what is it that _I_ do best?"

"Look pretty and stay out of the way."

The two glared at each other as their pegasi descended alongside the others.

"Okay, okay!" Piper said. "Annabeth, Calypso, stop. That's enough. What we need to worry about now is where we go from here."

Annabeth nodded in agreement and broke her gaze with Calypso, who scowled and crossed her arms in submission.

At that moment all the pegasi halted twenty feet midair, hovering as best they could as Blackjack flew back through them so Percy could speak.

"Okay, here's the plan," he said, glancing at Jason. "Jason and I'll go down, seeing as we're the only two that can safely, and scope out the situation. We check it out and come right back. Everyone else stay high. If something comes out of the water, it's probably going to attack, so stay out of range as much as possible."

"And, uh, _is_ something going to be coming out of the water?" Leo said. "Like, I don't know, Ariel or Flounder, Nemo, even?"

"Ha - Ursula, maybe. Just keep your eyes peeled. There's something powerful here, I can feel it. And I'm getting the idea that it's not a nice _something_."

"And what if something happens? How do we know?" Annabeth said.

"I'll yell," he smirked. She looked at him like she was about to push him off his Pegasus. "Yeah no, bad plan. I'll try and shoot up a geyser or something. Jason can make a storm. We'll do our best but I promise, nothing is going to happen." He smiled and Annabeth seemed to relax a little, though that wasn't saying much. She nodded and her face softened just a bit as she watched Percy and Jason descend away from the group and toward the boiling sea.

* * *

Jason and Percy made it down to the ocean's surface quickly, the pegasi dropping with only mild hesitation as Percy coaxed them closer. Jason watched as the son of Poseidon inspected the water as if it were some fascinating and horrible animal that would lash out if they got too close.

But nothing happened.

"Ready?" Jason nodded.

And they jumped.

The water was frigid, colder than Jason was expecting though why he had expected warmer water in the middle of the Atlantic he didn't know. Percy seemed to not even notice it, perhaps due to the fact that he _didn't_ notice it.

 _Stupid son of the sea god_ , Jason thought in spite of himself.

The two boys nodded to each other and Percy disappeared beneath the waves. Jason took a deep breath and plunged after him.

Once fully underwater, he forced himself to concentrate, to form the protective kind of air-bubble tornado around his lungs and his body that would keep him alive. Then he propelled himself slowly behind his friend who was waiting several yards away.

The first thing Jason noticed was the emptiness. The feeling of utter abandonment. There was hardly any sea life and the farther they descended the less he could see it was so dark, their path lit only by the dull light of Riptide.

Percy moved confidently ahead though, maneuvering them around any hazards that they ran across, and soon he slowed to a stop. He pointed down and Jason followed his gaze to what appeared to be the top of some great canyon in the sea floor.

Below them, the water actually seemed to be lighter. Jason could just barely make out the shapes of the white marble pillars and corral constructions that littered the sand, and only after a moment did he notice that there was a small pinpoint of light glowing at the center of the old palace.

It spread out in waves of green, rippling across the water and tinting it with the strange turquoise cast.

"Because _that_ looks good for the ocean," Percy said. Jason attempted a smile but lost it almost immediately as they heard the deep rumbling begin from somewhere below them.

 _Almost like the ocean is speaking_ , Jason thought, peering into the black abyss. The light was growing bigger, the rattling stronger, and Percy began to move back towards the rock face behind them, shielding his eyes with his sword, fear etched across his face as the water roared.

Jason remained where he was. He noticed Percy's apparent distress and part of his brain thought _Oh, maybe I should move back too, away from the imminent danger!_. The other part, and unfortunately the majority of his brain, registered nothing at all and he instead hovered in a kind of watery haze, seemingly separate from everything around him.

By the time he heard Percy or felt him yanking his arm it was too late.

" _Jason!_ Gods, get back!" The light erupted from the chasm and the two were thrown back against the rock, silt and sand engulfing them as the massive underwater wave slammed across the sea floor.

"Uh, what's doing that?" Jason said as he tried to regain his balance in the shifting ground.

"You really want an answer to that?"

"No."

"It's Oceanus. At least - I hope it's Oceanus."

"You _hope_ it's a killer titan who wants to destroy us?" Jason said in exasperation.

"Opposed to our other option? Koios? Yeah, I hope it's the less-killer titan on his way up."

Almost as soon as the words were out of Percy's mouth, a massive shadow began to climb from the depths of the now artificially lighted space.

The two demigods braced themselves for the sight of the massive merman - or his trigger-happy brother - and drew their weapons. But the obsidian horns and shimmering tail they were expecting were nothing in comparison to what actually emerged from the chasm.

A massive jaw filled with rows upon rows of horribly needle sharp teeth consumed the vast space before them. The rest of its head was hidden behind its snaky body which climbed down into the depths the gods knew how far.

"So Oceanus is having a real bad day it seems," Jason said. "What is that?"

"I've no idea - _something_."

Jason and Percy scrambled to press themselves up against the rock again, but the undercurrent from the beast as it rose ceaselessly higher and higher into the open ocean was too strong for them to stay rooted down.

One look to Percy and Jason knew they were thinking the same thing.

 _We need to get back up_.

How they would do that without drawing attention to themselves was the question. No way did Jason want that thing on his tail. He might be able to propel himself decently enough through the water, but by no means would he be able to outrun the Loch Ness monster's ancient relative.

"That way," Percy said as quietly as possible and began to creep sideways along the wall back the way they'd come. In this fashion they made it pretty far, foot over foot, hand over hand, like some modified freestyle. Jason almost thought they'd make it. That is, until he caught a loose patch of stone and sent it tumbling down the slope. It crashed with such a force that it knocked down more rock and pillar remnants as it fell. It wasn't extraordinarily loud, but needless to say, it was much louder than Jason would have liked. It was also apparently loud enough for the monster.

The ugly brute reared its head and snarled an earth shattering growl, something very otherworldly that made everything, every atom of Jason's body tingle as if they were splitting of their own accord.

" _Hades_ ," Percy said, barely a whisper.

"Second that," Jason mumbled. "Run?"

"Run."

Surprisingly enough, they made it most of the way back to the surface before the _something_ had even cleared the pitch black of the chasm. Apparently, its titanic size was not working for its benefit, which was perfectly alright with Jason.

They broke the surface and looked around desperately for the pegasi.

"Blackjack!" Percy yelled and almost immediately the dark form above became visible as it raced to meet them. "We need to get back to the others," he said as he propelled himself out of the water and onto the pegasus' back. "We need to figure this thing out before we can face it." Jason got a boost on behind Percy and they started up to join the rest of the demigods who hovered nervously nearby.

"Jason!" Piper yelled over the beating of frantic wings. "What happened?"

"A _something_ came out at us," he said, knowing it sounded stupid but too frightened to care.

"A _something_?" Annabeth repeated sarcastically. "Oh wow, that's _really_ insightful. Thank you for sharing, Son of Jupiter."

"That's what it was," Percy said. "Well, obviously it has a name, but I mean, I think _something_ fits it pretty nicely."

"A monster?"

Jason and Percy nodded. "Thought it'd be Oceanus, but all of a sudden there it was - "

"The _something,_ " Piper said.

"Yes, the _something_. Give us a break, Pipes. It was big and loud and had a lot of teeth so yes. We called it a _something_." Jason shrugged. "But that doesn't really matter because it was still following us and it didn't look like it was ready to stop."

"But an ocean creature wouldn't really follow us out of the water," Calypso said. "And even if it did, it wouldn't be able to reach us, surely."

"I wouldn't count on it," Percy said. "This thing was massive. We didn't even see all of it before we escaped. But it looked slow. That could work to our advantage at least."

As if to prove him wrong, the monster broke the surface of the water below at terminal velocity and continued to rocket skyward. The pegasi panicked and began to climb as quickly as their wings could carry them, and Festus shot a fireball in surprise before making the ascent himself.

"Oh my gods," Annabeth said. "That can't be."

Jason was about to ask what she meant when Blackjack bolted behind the others, not bothering to listen to Percy and both boys were forced to hold on until the pegasus slowed.

Annabeth was right behind them and it was only then that they saw the massive beast was sinking back into the water, perhaps getting ready to try again.

"What, Annabeth?" Percy gasped. "What is that thing?"

"A monster I didn't know still existed. It was your father's little 'pet' if you will, meaning he created it and had control over it. It must have been hiding in the ruins ever since the battle, not wanting to be bothered. But now that it's awake - It's name is Cetus."


	19. IXX Hazel

**HAZEL**

Frank looked like he wanted to pass out, then and there, and fall off his pegasus. Hazel flew up beside him and reached across to place her hand on his arm. He nodded, muttering "I'm okay" under his breath, and steadied himself.

"Okay, so how was it defeated before?" Hazel said. "And what was its original purpose? You said Poseidon created it."

Annabeth nodded. "Yes. Andromeda claimed to be more beautiful than the the other goddesses or Nereids, who then demanded retaliation from Poseidon. He created Cetus to punish Andromeda and she was chained to a cliff to wait to be eaten. Perseus fell in love with her and asked her parents for her hand in marriage if he saved her and killed Cetus."

"He would have," Calypso muttered, just loudly enough for Hazel to hear.

"Okay, so how did Perseus defeat him?" Percy said.

"It's not really clear," Annabeth continued. "Some accounts show that he decapitated it, others that he used the head of Medusa to turn it to stone. Either way - "

"Couldn't have been very easy to dangle a head in front of that thing," Jason said. "I'm not even sure if I could find its eyes."

"Exactly. So - needless to say - this isn't going to be easy, but we've faced big monsters before. We can do this." Annabeth's words were so convincing Hazel almost thought Piper had spoken instead. There was a way to her voice that made it clear she was the leader in this situation and knew what they had to do.

 _The war-ready Athena_ , Hazel thought.

"So, what's the plan then?" Percy said, directing the question at all of them. "We all jump on it at the same time and hope it sinks?"

No one offered an answer. _It seems impossible_.

Below, the dark shape of Cetus loomed in the churning waves, a great black spot in the ocean that none of the demigods wanted to face. The odd thing was, the monster didn't lunge again. It was as if it knew they were out of reach and was biding its time; as if it knew they'd try again.

Suddenly, a sweet sound emerged from the flapping of wings and crashing of waves. At first, Hazel though she was imagining it, simply a fragment of some lullaby surfacing in her memory for no rational reason, but then she noticed the others had a kind of dreamlike expression across all their faces.

"What is - " she began when she looked at Calypso toward the edge of the group. The goddess was poised atop her pegasus with the look of someone important, the look of someone who knew she could have what she wanted. And she was singing.

Now _what_ she was singing was unclear, the words jumbled in Hazel's head and lost to her as soon as they came. All she knew was that Calypso's voice was the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard and she wanted nothing more than for it to continue. She felt bubbly and lightheaded and grounded all at the same time, like she could do anything and _would_ do anything if only she'd be able to hear that voice sing.

Nico was the one to break the silence.

"Wha - what are you doing?" he said in his stupor.

"She's singing," Jason snapped. "Listen."

"It's an enchantment?" Nico persisted.

"Well, obviously," Annabeth said. "She _is_ an immortal goddess. What else would you expect?"

Nico shrugged, apparently satisfied with the answer.

Hazel glanced around at the others, her eyes landing on Frank just as he slumped over in his saddle and prepared to slide off his pegasus.

"Frank!" She grabbed his sleeve and hefted him back on just in time.

"Hmm?"

"Frank, pay attention," she said softly.

"Hr-hrm."

"Okay, so Calypso, what are you doing? Why, rather?" she said, a hint of anger tinging her voice.

"To help," was the reply, Calypso's lilting voice barely breaking its pace and carrying on with the song.

Hazel saw Percy and Jason share a look, Nico, Frank, and Piper take on confused expressions, and Annabeth look like the answer to every question forever had just been answered to her.

"Of course!" she exclaimed, and it was starting to dawn on Hazel as well. "She can _sing_ to Cetus!"

"Uh, I don't know, Annabeth. I'm not really sure an ancient sea monster is totally caught up on the latest _Top 100._ " Percy shook his head as if just realizing he were starting to fall asleep and rubbed at his eyes. "I'm still voting for the 'jump on him and make him sink ' option, personally."

"No, you don't get it. Calypso's voice - it can put Cetus to sleep if we can get him to hear it."

"I think I kind of understand," Hazel interjected. "The song works almost like a sedative; it can make whoever hears it do whatever she wants them to."

Calypso nodded and the song ended. Instantly, Hazel felt more alert. It was as if a sheer grey curtain had been draped before her eyes and she could now see clearly again. Apparently, it had the same effect on the others, for the importance of this realization now seemed to be dawning on all of them.

"But how do we get Cetus up here to hear her is the question," Piper said.

"If Percy and Jason can lure it up, I can attempt to get close enough. It wouldn't take long, or at least, it _shouldn't_ take long. 'In and out' as you say." Calypso said it simply, yet it sounded to Hazel like it would be more complex in action than simply "luring it up." But the others seemed to be on board, so she guessed that was the plan. It was certainly the most straightforward option. If only things ever went according to plan on their quests.

"The rest of us should stay close in case you guys need help," she said, not wanting this to end as badly as she envisioned it would. To her surprise, Percy agreed with her.

"Definitely," he said, patting Blackjack to keep him calm. "Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Nico, Frank, Hazel, you all stay close enough to Calypso to keep an eye on her but far enough away so Cetus doesn't see you. We want him focused on her."

The other's nodded and Annabeth looked like she wanted to say something, but before she got the chance Percy, Jason, and Calypso had turned seaward and were galloping back down to the surface.


	20. XX Percy

**PERCY**

Now, Percy did not wake up this morning wanting to go play bait for a giant hungry sea monster. He still didn't see the appeal of the idea, but now that he, Jason, and Calypso were on their way to do just that, he couldn't help but feel a little excited that maybe this crazy plan would work.

"Okay, so Jason and I'll go under and draw him up, then you - well, you do your thing, I guess," he said, awkwardly trying to form the sentence. The way she stared at him, _gods_. It was weird, almost like she was scanning him for his flaws and could pick out every one to analyze. He shifted uncomfortably in the saddle and cleared his throat, looking at Jason for a little backup.

Calypso on the other hand chuckled and shook her head. "No, no, no. I will not simply 'do my thing' as you say. You two have to get Cetus within range. I cannot simply start to sing and make everything within a twenty mile radius drop."

"Okay, how close do you need him?" Percy tried his hardest to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He was anxious, that much was true, but he couldn't afford to show it. Not now. Not with _her_ eyes boring into him like that. So he'd try and accommodate without getting killed in the process.

"Close, closer than anyone would like to be getting to a great sea beast. But I can do it. If you get him up and make him _stay_ up, I can do the rest."

Percy nodded, not totally convinced but unwilling to argue with the goddess, and motioned to Jason. "Ready, I guess?"

"Sure, why not," he said with a shrug. It was amazing, the longer Jason spent with his _Graceus_ friends the more relaxed he seemed to be. He didn't seem to be as uptight as the other kids at Camp Jupiter, the other Romans, instead he acted more like the Camp Half-Blood campers. He shrugged things off more easily, didn't appear to let it get to him like it might have before. Maybe he just came across that way, but Percy thought it was pretty convincing.

"You two should get to it then if we're to get this finished. It'll be dark soon," Calypso said, glancing carelessly at the sky and the orange whips that were creeping across it.

"We're going," Percy said, perhaps a little too defensively, but he really didn't care anymore. There was something about her that was wearing thin on his nerves, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe it had something to do with her and Leo -

No. That was stupid. Percy had no reason to have a problem with the two of them. No, he was probably just tired and fed up with his father.

Percy had been praying to Poseidon for days now, ever since he'd first had that strange dream with Oceanus and Koios. The only problem was, he was yet to get any kind of response. Usually, this wouldn't have bothered Percy. It was normal for the gods to be more than a little absent and even uninterested in their children's lives, but in this instance, Percy's situation seemed a little more important. It wasn't like he was using his father as a way to rant about the stuff he hated, like bad horror movies or sugar-free vanilla ice cream. He had a serious problem and he was more than certain Poseidon could help him with it.

It was like his father was ignoring him, yet again, the difference being that this time, Percy needed him more than ever.

"We good then?" Jason said, pulling Percy back. He blinked and nodded quickly, wondering how long he'd spaced, and moved to dismount Blackjack who was practically screaming in his head.

 _Hey, boss, what'd'ya think you're doing? That monster thingy's gonna eat you like I eat sugar cubes! Bad idea, bad idea._

 _It'll be fine, bud. Don't worry about it. Just stay close and stay out of its way when it comes up and watch Calypso's back._

 _Okay, okay. Sure, boss. Whatever you say. Just don't go getting yourself killed and eaten._

And Percy jumped.

Jason landed beside him, his little mini-cane instantly forming around him. The water was a deep, clear shade of blue, the color of a midnight sky. It was empty. An infinite expanse of depthless ocean, no animals, no reefs, no nothing.

And Cetus was no where in sight.

"Uh, where'd it go?" Jason said quietly. "It's huge, how could it just disappear?"

"I'm not sure I want to find out." Percy did a three-sixty and found just the same sight on all sides. "Okay, so. Where would you hide in the middle of an empty ocean if you were a giant ancient sea monster?"

"I'm not sure I would," Jason said. "I mean, what use does a giant ancient sea monster have for hiding?"

"There's a point."

And of course, right on cue, the rumbling began. It resembled the kind of sound Percy imagined an angry bear would make if it were underwater.

Before their eyes, and not too far away, the massive shape of Cetus emerged out of a hazy patch of ocean Percy was sure had not been there before.

Instead of attacking however as Percy was expecting, the beast just hovered in the water, suspended in the clear liquid like some dinosaur model in a museum.

Now that it wasn't chasing them and the lighting was better, they could make out the actual appearance of the great Cetus.

It had the head of a massive greyhound with the smooth skin of a seal. The long snout ended in a sharp point that most definitely served as a kind of extra tooth, while the lips curled up in a fearsome grin, showing off the smaller teeth they had admired earlier. The skin near the chin began to bleed into a beefy, scaly neck which in turn connected to the rest of its Nesse-like body. Four oar-shaped flippers jutted out from its sides and ended in some aquatic version of a paw, jagged claws clipping along the base of each.

It took him a moment, but before long Percy realized that the angry-bear noise was coming from Cetus. The base of his throat could just barely be seen vibrating as the monster grumbled, shifting the water in massive amounts around the top half of his body. The sound persisted and gradually grew in strength until it was a high pitched, dolphin-ish rattle that shook Percy's very teeth.

It was at that point that Percy decided to think, _Huh, maybe he just wants to talk_.

It was also the point that Cetus decided he would prove Percy wrong and he bowed his head to charge.

"Okay, now, I think, would be a good time to head up," Percy said as he began to back away.

"Yup, think I agree on that one."

They propelled themselves upward, emerging from the water and, still airborne, found themselves back on the backs of their pegasi who had remained near the surface to wait for the demigods. They swooped down to catch them and soared up again as fast as they could. They knew what was coming this time. Good thing too, because Cetus was right behind them.

As before, the monster plunged from the water's surface, teeth bashing and dolphin-screaming in anger, and shot out into the open air. They did circles and figure eights around the beasts' head, drawing its attention and staying just close enough yet just out of reach to keep its focus.

 _Gods, where is Calypso?_ Percy thought angrily. She was going to get them all killed if she didn't do it soon. Then, suddenly, there she was, grey pegasus beneath her, calm as could be as it approached the snarling head.

And she began to sing.

Now, if Percy had thought about it, it would have made perfect sense that if they were near Calypso when she started to sing, they'd be effected by it too, but somehow his brain had determined that if they were attempting to make _Cetus_ sleepy, _they_ would be safe. Unfortunately, this is not how it worked and almost immediately did Jason and Percy begin to feel the effects of her magical song. This time was much stronger, more intense than before, their eyes beginning to droop with only one chorus. Blackjack began to beat his wings more sluggishly, hovering irregularly as he did a kind of bounce through the air.

"Oh no," Percy said, forcing his eyes into focus again. They hadn't planned on being able to actually hear what Calypso was doing.

Then, Percy remembered something from a quest he and Annabeth had gone on when they were thirteen -

"Quick!" he shouted over the roar of the waves. "Plug your ears!"

Jason didn't object and they both worked at tearing pieces of fabric from their teeshirts and stuffing the thread in their ears. It didn't totally block out the sound, but it was better than nothing and at least muffled the melody.

Unfortunately it was a little more effective at blocking out the words Jason was saying as well, and Percy looked up to find him urgently pointing to where Cetus and Calypso were.

She had gotten its attention alright, but now the monster was staring at her like she was the newest item on the lunch menu. And it didn't look the least bit sleepy. It began to advance, and her pegasus wouldn't be much of a match for it if it got too close. But she couldn't turn and run, nor would she, Percy knew, if this was to get done. She continued to sing, never missing a beat, and as the beast continued to get uncomfortably close, Percy knew they had to do something.

"Come on," he motioned, starting forward.

"What's the plan?" Jason yelled over the earplugs.

"Get between them. That way he'll still be hearing the song but he'll have more than one target."

"Cool. Monster bait twice in one day? That's like my dream come true, Percy!"

They made their way over to Calypso, who stopped singing as they swooped to insert themselves between her and Cetus.

"What are you doing?" she said through gritted teeth.

"Just keep going," Percy yelled back, Blackjack flapping his wings madly trying to keep ahead of the wall of teeth. Now that they were closer, they could see the monster was swaying slightly but in a controlled fashion, not like he was off balance out of the water.

He was like a giant cobra, Percy realized, mesmerized by the song yet still not fully under. Still dangerous.

But as it swayed, it also began to sink. It was losing its balance and was slowly, ever so slowly, toppling back into the sea where Percy had no doubt it would sink to the bottom and sleep for a very long time.

Before long, the great Cetus' body buckled, the abyssal eyes remained open, and he fell, hurtling down in a great mass of greyhound and flippers. Hurtling _towards_ them.

"Move! Everyone move!" Percy yelled, the three scattering and flying as quickly as their pegasi could carry them in the opposite direction of the monster.

They weren't fast enough.

The body twisted midair as it slackened and began to pick of speed, the pegasi doing their best to do the same.

Calypso cleared first, looping up and away from the beast as soon as she could. Jason was next, racing under the catatonic paws and arching up and under, just missing one by the tail of his pegasus.

Now Percy saw his problem.

There wasn't enough room for him to continue going straight and make it. He'd have to go down, staying just in front of Cetus, and sneak out at the bottom. _Gods of Olympus, why can't you just make it easy_ one day? he thought, cursing under his breath and urging Blackjack on. By this point, the body of Cetus had formed a strange, almost cave-like arch under which Percy was flying - a cave that kept getting smaller.

He clung close to Blackjack and felt the cloth fly out of his ears, probably to be lodged in Cetus' giant nose or something. He fixed his gaze on a little opening between the beast's limbs and focused all his power on getting to it.

He would make it. He would.

The water was quickly coming upon them, a few more seconds and they'd hit, and so would Cetus.

And then they pulled finally through the little opening, just big enough for the pegasus, his hooves scraping the water as he whinnied in apparent victory.

Only then did Blackjack realize that he was alone.

Percy was no longer on his back, nor was he in his head.

 _Boss! Hey, boss! Talk to me, boss!_ he called to his master as he circled the water in distress.

But Percy couldn't hear him.


	21. XXI Leo

**LEO  
**

Leo had to admit, being on Back-up duty really wasn't that great. In fact, it kind of sucked. Festus wasn't too happy about it either. He kept clicking and shaking his head as if eager to do something, like blast the monster below with some fire. That's what Leo was eager to do at least.

But no, he and the dragon were told to stay far enough away that Cetus wouldn't see the glint of bronze in the sun. It made sense, and Leo got it. They all had to do what they could to make sure this thing worked, crazy as it seemed. And what Leo had to do was keep away, only coming down if something went wrong.

Which it probably would.

He just wished he could shake the feeling that something else was wrong, something that had nothing to do with this quest or Cetus.

Ever since he'd arrived back at camp, he hadn't been able to escape the strange looks he seemed to get, even from Jason and Piper. He always felt like someone was watching him, inspecting him from afar. But maybe it was just nerves. Some weird paranoia that came with coming back from the dead. All the same, something seemed off and it felt to Leo that people did their best to distance themselves from him.

Being alone now high away from the others didn't help to dispel that notion.

Leo began to drift, no longer paying attention to the small dots that were the other pegasi hovering in the distance, and focused instead on the clouds. They were the big ones, the kind that he vaguely remembered the term _cumulonimbus_ was used to describe.

"Look, Festus. There's another dragon," he said, pointing lazily to a generally large cloud to their right. Festus looked up but was otherwise uninterested. "And there's a gryphon, and that one looks like Coach Hedge, and look. A pegasus. With Annabeth riding it." Indeed, there was a pegasus, not one made out of water-vapor but the white one named Porkpie, with a very real, very serious looking Annabeth flying towards them.

It would appear that something had gone wrong.

She nodded to him and motioned for Leo to follow her as she turned and headed back down toward the sea.

* * *

They arrived in no time, the other pegasi and demigods now clustered just at the water's surface, peering down into the dark, calm sea as if they had all lost a contact lens and were extremely worried about finding it.

"What's going on?" Leo said, glancing around the circle. His eyes caught Blackjack, the pegasus' startlingly black wings fluttering anxiously as he whipped back and forth above the surface, pawing at the water with one hoof like a dog who's lost his bone. His back was bare and Percy was no where in sight. "Where's Percy?"

"That's the problem," Jason said nervously. "He fell when Cetus went down and he hasn't come back up yet."

"And it's getting dark," Calypso added. "We should think about setting down for the night. We can't fly the pegasi much longer, they're already tired."

"We can't just leave him out here!" Annabeth said, her voice shaking and angry.

"He's a son of Poseidon, he'll be fine," Calypso countered.

"Not if he's been crushed he won't be!"

"If he's been crushed then what makes you think we have any hopes of getting him back?"

Annabeth said nothing, staring straight ahead, her forehead creased in angry, frustrated lines. She swallowed hard and opened her mouth as if to speak, but no sound came out. Calypso had spoken the very words no one else had dared.

"No," Annabeth said with a breath. "No, he's still down there, I know it. We have to wait. He'll be right here. Something's just holding him up, that's all. He's fine."

Everyone shared cautious glances, trying to decide silently what to do. Calypso was right, that was clear for any of them to see. They couldn't keep flying the pegasi. They were exhausted, barely able to keep their wings up. They'd have to set down, if not now, very soon.

Piper was the one to speak up next. "She's right, Annabeth. We have to leave, but just for now. We'll come back in the morning, once the pegasi are rested." Annabeth looked like she wanted to protest, but she maintained her stoney expression and refused to make eye contact with any of them. "And besides," Piper continued. "Percy will be able to find us when he does come up. He'll know where we've headed, right, Leo?"

It took Leo a moment to register that she was talking to him and needed him to play along. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, no, there's only one little island near here that would be a good bet. We should head there," he said, punching some buttons on Festus' external GPS system. "And Percy'll know it's there too, so it's all good then!"

"See?" Piper continued, laying the charmspeak on thick. "You're right, he will be fine. But _we_ do have to leave. I'm sure he'll be back with us before morning."

Finally, Annabeth succumbed. She nodded, looking at Leo to lead the way, and turned with the rest of the group. He noticed out the corner of his eye, however, that she lingered a little behind the others, gazing back out over the water where Cetus had gone down, silent tears behind her eyes that she wouldn't let escape.


	22. XXII Jason

**JASON**

The little island was just that. Little.

Jason was pretty sure there was a maximum number of thirteen trees spread across its rocky surface, very little sand and a lot of tall weedy grass that started at the shore on one side and ended at the shore on the other.

It was like some pegasi paradise, and as they set down all of them whinnied excitedly and plowed down into the grasses. Perhaps the salt air gave it a savory taste because from watching them, it apparently tasted much better than the stuff they were fed at camp.

The seven demigods and Calypso fanned out, circling the island, scoping out the scenery. It took them all of ten minutes to regroup in the clearing where they'd landed, finally settling, however uneasily, on the fact that the island was deserted, no monsters or mortals to speak of.

They started setting up camp, pulling some enchanted tents from their packs and shaking them out until they were large enough for several people to fit inside at once.

Leo set to work preparing their dinner, some kind of Italian food from the smell of it, and the others took no time at all to sit down on solid ground.

Piper walked over to Jason with a wobbly gait, sighing as she collapsed on the rocks beside him and let her feet trail in the water.

"It feels so good to be on solid ground again," she sighed, watching the little ripples of waves trip across her toes.

"Yeah," Jason agreed, yet still worried about Percy. He hadn't wanted to leave him any more than Annabeth and now waited impatiently for morning to come around so they could resume their search.

"Looks like the tide's going out," Piper said suddenly, drawing his attention to the water that he now noticed no longer reached their feet.

"Uh-huh," he said absentmindedly. "Must be getting late."

"Dinner! Come and get it!" Leo shouted from the background and the shuffling of feet quickly followed.

Jason and Piper joined them, both smiling as they sat down to the meal.

It looked amazing. Leo had certainly outdone himself this time. Heaps of bread thick with butter and garlic accompanied a vat of pasta, complete with a deep red, just spicy enough tomato sauce and plenty of cheese.

It didn't take long for the eight to devour the feast, even Calypso digging in as if it were the best thing the goddess had ever tasted.

By the time they'd finished, paper plates disposed of by Festus, and the sun long since disappeared on the horizon, they were all appropriately tired. Annabeth volunteered to take first watch, Jason second, and they filed clumsily into the tents.

* * *

Annabeth popped her head into Jason's tent just as the sun was beginning to rise.

"Jason," she whispered, prodding him gently on the shoulder.

"Yah-huh?"

"Your turn, stormy."

Jason started at that. By no means did he appreciate nicknames, _especially_ the ones he seemed to get stuck with. He was about to complain when Annabeth put her finger to her lips and motioned to the others still sleeping around them.

 _Okay, wise-girl_ , he thought with a scowl, and carefully crept around Piper, Leo, and Calypso.

Jason gripped the gladius at his side tightly as he took Annabeth's place on the rocks outside. A fire was still burning though now not as brightly in the early morning dawn, and the pegasi stood nearby snorting peacefully in their sleep.

"All set?" Annabeth said, waiting for Jason's nod before slipping silently into the tent herself for some much needed sleep of her own.

Before long, the first rays of the morning slipped over the horizon and the orange orb of the sun hung low across the still water. The waves were still a long way off, the tide must have gone out more once they'd gone to sleep. Jason didn't know much about the ocean, but it did seem a little strange that the water wouldn't have yet come back in. But it was probably nothing to worry about.

He took to watching the sun as it made its painfully slow ascent. It was strange, how actually paying attention to it made it look like it didn't move at all, then how forgetting about it, it seemed to move almost fast. He'd look one second and the star was just above the horizon, and the next it'd be noticeably farther up in the sky. He shook his head, too tired to think about it.

Suddenly, one of the pegasi shook his head, finally waking up. Jason watched as the brown haired beast prodded the shoulders of several others around him, waking them up as well, until all eight were nickering to each other, apparently deep in conversation. One of the horses rose up on his hind quarters, pawing aggressively at the air, and the others milled around nervously, bobbing their heads and looking out at the far-away ocean.

Jason stood, not really wanting to have another Momus incident, and slowly approached the group.

The brown one turned towards him and whinnied, advancing a few steps and stamping the ground as if to say _don't come any closer_.

Jason stopped, sword hovering in front of him, unsure if he should wake the others or not.

 _No, not yet. Wait to see how this plays out. Only paranormal activity on a deserted island. No problem_.

One of the trees over him rustled. This would've been fine with Jason had there been a breeze to blame. Unfortunately, there wasn't.

"Who's there?" he said in his best Praetor's voice. He was a bit out of practice with the whole commanding armies gig so, needless to say, it was less convincing than he'd have liked. He tried again. "Show yourself!"

The tree rustled again, then stopped just as suddenly. The next tree over started up, then the next, and finally Jason was just a little freaked out.

Then the voice spoke, little more than a breeze, like wind through a jungle.

 _Do not trust the dreams of Asteria_ , it said. _They will lead you to ruin_.

"Who are you?" Jason shouted, getting a little angry now. He wasn't a fan of disembodied voices.

 _Son of Koios,_ the voice said. _God of the air, god of the hunter's skill, god of stealth._

"What do you want?"

 _To warn you. The dreams of prophecy are not to be trusted. Ignore their meaning, for they have none which will benefit you. They will bring destruction upon the world of men and gods alike._

"And why should I listen to you? If you're Koios' son why would you be helping us?" Jason countered.

 _I am Lelantos. God of the air, god of the hunter's skill, god of stealth_ , the voice repeated.

"Yeah, got that."

"Jason? What's going on?" Annabeth emerged from her tent, eyes wide awake despite her lack of sleep.

"Listen."

But the voice of Lelantos had ceased. Only the sound of far off waves now sounded across the island.

Annabeth looked at Jason for an answer.

"He said his name was Lelantos, son of Koios. God of air and hunters or something."

"There was someone here?" she said guardedly, looking around suspiciously at the tall and solitary trees.

"I'm not really sure," Jason clarified. "I couldn't see him, he just kind of spoke. He said something about how we couldn't trust 'the dreams of _Australia_?' Or, something like that. Dreams of prophecy he said. How they'd lead to our destruction."

Annabeth looked concerned, but said nothing and turned back to the tents. She got the others up, told them to get their gear in order, and approached the pegasi who had since calmed and were again happily munching on the grass.

No one dared ask what the plan was, as it was clear to everyone. They had to go back to where Cetus sunk. They had to keep looking for Percy.

"We can't leave until we find him," Annabeth said confidently. "We need all of us if we're to finish this."

"Well let's go then," Jason said, jumping up onto his pegasus. "No use wasting any more time this morning."

They took off in one great mass of wings, limbs, and bronze from the little island and hurtled over the sea for the first time of many more to come.


	23. XXIII Hazel

**HAZEL**

Their journey gave them nothing.

Leo led them back to the coordinates where Cetus and Percy had disappeared, but there was no sign of either. Jason took the plunge into the cold water, descending as far as he could manage before resurfacing and informing the others that nothing was there. Even the layout of the ocean floor looked different, he said. But that didn't make sense. Unless the ocean was playing tricks on them, which Hazel decided was entirely possible.

They scanned the water for hours, splitting up and covering the surface in all directions, searching for anything that might serve as evidence of Percy's presence. But they came back with nothing.

Eventually, the sun began to sink once more and the impending night forced them back to their little deserted island.

The tide was still out, and Hazel had the sneaking suspicion it was farther away than before, and the extra space in the sand provided the pegasi with a nice cool place to rest their wings.

The eight filed back into their tents as the sun slipped away yet again, and Hazel for one, lost herself in deep, unescapable dreams.

* * *

Hazel found herself in the middle of a storm. The racing wind whipped by her, giving its best effort to knock her off the slick rock she was perched upon.

She wanted to run and hide, if only there had been anywhere to do so. She felt her feet begin to slide on her little rocky island, waves beating up against its' algae covered surface, her sneakers little match for the will of an angry titan.

For she was certain Oceanus had something to do with this.

She squinted out into the whirlwind of water and smoke, until she could finally make out the outlines of the others, clinging desperately to their own rocky patches. She saw Frank beside her, a few yards away, bow drawn and aiming at something above them, but with every arrow he shot, it was blown off course by the storm and missed its' mark.

Jason was next over, only distinguishable by the extra haze that seemed to cling to him, his little storm so minuscule in comparison to the one it was battling.

She could see the small silhouettes of the others, Piper, Calypso, and Nico, farther off, too blurred by rain to tell how they were holding up. Annabeth, Leo, and Percy were no where in sight, however, nor were the pegasi or Festus.

As Hazel tried to think around their situation, feeling so much like she were in a dream yet uncertain of reality, she caught sight of a massive cliff face in front of them, off farther out to sea.

The only problem with that was, walls don't tend to move. And the longer she looked at this one, it was most certainly, undoubtedly moving towards them.

It was a wave.

A tidal wave bigger than anything Hazel could have previously imagined was hurtling towards them, ready and willing to obliterate any hope they had for escape.

Hazel felt herself panic, if only for a moment, as while the wall of water edged closer, she heard a voice, soothing and calm, whisper in her ear.

 _Into the sea_ , it said. _Into the sea if you want to survive._

No question passed through her mind, she believed the voice without a doubt. She watched as the wave was suddenly on top of them, ready to crest, ready to pound them into the rocks that up until now had been their refuge, unless they jumped.

She shouted, screamed, to the others, telling them what to do, knowing it would save them. But the wind was too strong, her voice too weak, and Frank continued to launch his arrows, Jason his storms. Clearly she was the only one to have heard the voice, and she couldn't save the others.

One last time, she yelled, and she saw Frank turn to her in confusion, finally hearing her cries, but she had already jumped, plunging headlong into the sea as the massive wave came crashing down.


	24. XXIV Percy

**PERCY**

Percy couldn't breathe.

Everything was black and he couldn't breathe.

He kicked out and his foot made contact with something hard and much too organic feeling to be a rock. He recoiled, trying to push himself away, trying not to panic.

He couldn't remember how he'd gotten here, wherever _here_ was, underwater, clearly, because he was wet.

 _He was wet_. But that couldn't be -

His lungs burned and he tried to calm himself. This had to be a dream. It had to. But he knew it wasn't. Now he remembered - flying, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, or, sea-monster, feeling the salt air on the other side, knowing he'd make it out, and then he'd been falling.

Blackjack must have nicked the water too hard, stumbled a little in the air, and Percy lost his grip. He'd hit the ocean hard, no time to straighten out and brace himself for the impact. He'd had just enough time and just enough wherewithal to jet himself out of the way as the great shadow of Cetus came crashing around him.

And then he'd blacked out.

And now he was _here_. He tried to kick up, but his sneakers seemed too heavy on his feet. He yanked them off impatiently, letting them fall away, and was able to make a little progress, but it was no use. He was too far down. There was no way he'd make it back up before he ran out of air. He kicked a little harder, forcing himself to move.

 _Gods, if only I could see something_ , he thought, black spots with white halos dancing in front of his eyes.

Then he remembered Riptide. The trusty pen was still inside his pocket and he rushed to uncap it. The sword glowed dimly, but it was enough to see a few feet in front of him. He immediately regretted the decision.

Staring him in the face was a giant eye. He fought the urge to scream and reminded himself that Cetus was asleep, though somehow that didn't provide much comfort. He resumed his kicking. The water felt too thick around him, and he couldn't make it move as usual. It was fighting him, not helping him, and Percy knew he was going to die.

 _Tyson and Dad aren't here to save me this time_.

The black spots blurred into bright stars, jumping around his eyes as if trying to block his vision. He was swimming blind and it was clear he wasn't moving anywhere fast.

His feet made contact with something hard again, maybe a rock this time, and he fell to his knees on the sandy floor. Something sharp hit his side but he didn't feel it. His head hurt too much, his lungs, his eyes - and all he wanted to do was sleep. He was so tired, more so than he realized.

 _Should've gotten more sleep_ , he thought and his vision turned white.

* * *

Percy came to on a cold floor, in air now, not water, flat on his back and bare-footed.

He opened his eyes only to shut them again because of the too bright light, and did his best to sit up.

Pain shot up his spine and he gasped, cringing again as more pain filled his chest which felt like it had been crushed inside a garbage truck. He covered his eyes and blinked, trying to adjust them to the brightness.

He heard a ripple behind him. He wasn't alone.

He grabbed for Riptide and tried to swing around to face whatever was with him and was met with a burning sensation in his side. Clutching his ribs, the sound grew louder as the being approached. Percy prepared for whatever it was that was about to eat him, too exhausted to even contemplate fighting back.

"Percy?" a husky voice said.

Percy turned his head and watched as his father, in his human form, came closer, bending over, concern etched across his chiseled face. He looked younger than the last time Percy had seen him, war-weary and aged. Now he seemed to have regained some of his immortal youth, even if he still looked a little tired.

"Yeah," was all Percy could think to say.

"Are you alright?" Poseidon said, pulling something from behind his back and producing the green Nikes' Percy had discarded earlier.

"Thanks," he said as the sea god gently handed them over. "What happened?"

"Well I hoped you could tell me. It was chance that I found you. You are one very lucky demigod. That pressure would've killed anyone not related to me, but thankfully that's not a problem for you. I came looking for Cetus, that great beast of mine - unfortunately I was unaware it had returned and, now that I'm here, I find that it is no longer a threat. Can I assume you have something to do with that?" He smiled, clearly wanting Percy to tell him how he'd taken down the monster singlehandedly, saved all his friends, and rescued some dolphins trapped in a fishing net all at the same time, but Percy just stared at his bare feet.

"I couldn't breath," he whispered, the words scaring him as he said them aloud. He expected his father to laugh, hoist him up and clap him on the back, say how funny his son was for joking about something so absurd for a child of Poseidon.

Instead, the god of the sea frowned, creased his eyebrows and looked very seriously over his son. "We should change that bandage," he said, gesturing to Percy's side, a large splotch of red seeping out through the orange shirt.

It took him a second to actually realize he was bleeding and that that had been the burning he'd felt earlier.

"You hit one of Cetus' teeth when you fell," Poseidon continued. "Thankfully it just nicked you, otherwise you - "

"Yeah, got it, thanks." Percy didn't really want a visual. He could imagine clearly enough what would have happened to him. His father nodded and waved to someone else now hovering in the doorway and the nereid with glossy green hair and a flowing silvery dress floated gracefully into the room.

She helped Percy to unwrap the gauzy material (Percy now realized it was seaweed) from the gash and spread a green, goopy substance (probably more seaweed) onto it, smacking away his hand when he tried to poke at it when she was done. Apparently it was some high-class mer-medicine, some kind of undersea ambrosia that was sure to both clean and heal. Unfortunately, it did not sooth, and the burning persisted. The wound did stop bleeding however, which Percy figured was probably a good thing, and soon he was once again patched up with a seaweed compress.

The nereid stood at attention, waiting for further instruction from her king, who bowed his head, dismissing her, sending her flowing back out the door. "Now," Poseidon said, crossing his arms and regarding Percy sternly. "Would you like to explain what is going on?"

* * *

Percy did his best to fill in the god - the quest, the titanic problem they faced (which, as he suspected, Poseidon already knew about), Cetus and how he came practically out of nowhere. He knew he was leaving stuff out, but he didn't really think it was all that necessary, like how Calypso had basically been goddess-napped from her island and how Leo had come back from the dead. He figured the whole "goddess escaping from her punishment" wouldn't be the best thing to mention to a god, even if that god was his father.

"Blackjack and I just barely made it out, but we must have hit the water and I lost my grip on him," Percy finished.

"And when you said you couldn't breathe," Poseidon said, clasping his hands behind his back and watching Percy thoughtfully, "what did you mean? When couldn't you breathe? In a dream, perhaps?"

Percy wished more than anything he could say yes, only in a dream. It was partly true, after all, he had had that nightmare before.

But he shook his head. "No, not just in a dream - I must have blacked out when I hit, cause when I woke up I had sunk with Cetus. Where you found me," he said. "I couldn't breathe and I couldn't move the water like I normally can. I guess I passed out again. And then I woke up here."

"But you had time to take your shoes off, I noticed," his father said with a small smile.

Percy shrugged. "Never really liked them anyway."

Poseidon gave a thunderous laugh which seemed a little excessive to Percy, and wiped a tear from his eye when he was finished. "So, what of this quest?" he finally said, taking Percy a little by surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"Well I imagine you're leading it, son of the sea and all, an ocean foe, who better?"

Percy shifted his feet before answering. "It's not _only_ me," he said, not really keen to take on all the responsibility.

"Well of course not, surely there are others, considering how these quests go, but there is always a leader, isn't there."

 _He's really not going to drop it_.

"It's me, Annabeth, and Leo," he clarified. "We're doing it together. There is no _one_ leader. That usually doesn't end well."

Poseidon nodded slowly, cleared his throat. "Well then, that's good. Teamwork always pays off in the end." With that he turned away and lingered once more in the doorway. "Come out when you're ready perhaps. I'll be down the way in my study," he said and slipped out the door.

Percy was left standing alone in the cold room, teeshirt damp and hair still wet against his face, wondering if he'd be able to leave the air confines of the room in order to follow his father, or if he'd be forced to remain where he was, unable to breathe.


	25. XXV Leo

**LEO**

Hazel was crying.

That was the first thing Leo saw when he came out of his tent. Frank stood over her, arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders, and Nico crouched huddled to the side like he didn't want to get in the way.

Frank kept talking to her and she kept shaking her head, her breaths raspy with the effort as she gulped down the air between sobs.

Leo thought about slipping silently back inside the tent when Frank saw him and motioned for him to come over. Hesitantly, he obliged, walking around to Hazel's other side and smiling awkwardly.

"Morning, everybody," he said quietly. He almost continued with _How'd everyone sleep?_ but clearly, Hazel hadn't had a good night.

"What's going on?" Jason said from behind them, yawning as he strolled casually over. Piper emerged from the tent as well, saw Hazel and immediately adopted a look of deep concern.

Hazel looked up at the two of them and gave a great sigh as if seeing Jason and Piper somehow put her at ease.

Jason took notice and caught on that there was a problem. "What?" he said kindly.

"She had a dream," Frank said. "About - about Oceanus, i think."

"What happened, Hazel?"

She cleared her throat and wiped at her face, taking a deep breath before speaking. "I'm not exactly sure," she began. "It was all of us, and we were in the middle of the ocean. A voice told me that I needed to get in the water if I wanted to make it, but none of you heard it. I tried to tell you and - " Her voice broke and she steadied herself on the rock. "There was a massive wave headed for us. I jumped in right in time. But no one else made it."

* * *

"None of us?" Leo said. "Percy, even?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. You, Percy, and Annabeth weren't there."

Annabeth had made her way over, and now she stood beside Leo looking on sadly at Hazel. "Did you recognize the voice, Hazel?" she asked.

"No. It sounded like a woman, but that's all I got."

"Maybe we shouldn't all go out today," Frank suggested. "Maybe some of us could stay here."

"Yeah, I agree," Piper said. "We should let some of the pegasi rest for the day. Flying them out for so long is going to wear them down eventually. We can just alternate who goes and who stays." The others motioned their agreement, including Annabeth.

"So who wants to go?" she said as she approached Porkpie, whom she'd already packed with gear. It was clear she would be going.

"I can," Jason said.

"And me," Nico added. Frank and Hazel voted to stay behind, as did Piper.

Only then did anyone notice Calypso's absence. Suddenly though, her pegasus came trotting down the beach with her. Apparently, she'd decided to take a little morning ride and not tell anyone. "Are we leaving?" she said as she approached them.

"Would you like to come?" Annabeth said, a hint of irritation lacing her voice.

"Why of course," the goddess replied, arching her eyebrows as though to ask if it was even a question.

The group finished loading up on supplies, just enough to keep them sustained for the day, and flew off, back again to scour the ocean for any signs of the son of Poseidon.

It was still quite early, the sun barely up passed the trees, and Leo decided it couldn't hurt to catch a little more sleep. He snuck off, not wanting to disturb the others who were still trying to console Hazel, and found a nice little crevice between some rocks to nap. The sun as it rose felt wonderful as it warmed up the sand around him, and he soon was fast asleep.

* * *

Leo was at the cliff. Again with the cliff.

He recognized it this time, not having to think very hard about where he was. He'd been here before, if only in a dream, and knew for the most part what was to come.

As before, he was in a field.

 _Not the Fields of Punishment_ , he reminded himself.

He made the loop as before, finding the mountain as before. He stepped back, heard the glass beneath his foot, picked it up.

Everything was identical as the last time.

With one exception.

This time, upon looking into the glass, he did not see himself. The dark eyes that should have been looking back at him were replaced by those of a brilliant, clear, white. He very nearly dropped the shard in surprise, more than a little freaked out by the image.

His expectation of the crumbling rock was disrupted and he barely registered the telltale sound of the face breaking. He tumbled out of the way just in time, watching as it exploded beside him.

He looked up immediately, scouring the side of the mountain with his eyes. This time, he still saw nothing, no one to speak of that could have dislodged it, and as before he sensed the movement behind him.

Whipping around, glass-dagger before him, he found himself face to face with a pale, plain faced woman.

She was beautiful in her own right, long pure white hair trailing down her back, and her eyes - brilliant, clear, white.

Something in her expression spoke of pain, of sadness, and Leo had the suspicion that she was staring directly into his soul.

"Who are you?" he managed.

"That is unimportant," she said.

"Uh, yeah. No, I think it's probably pretty important," Leo said. "Where are we?"

"Also unimportant."

"Quite the conversationalist, aren't you?"

"I am the island of Delos," she said. "Sender of the prophecies of the night and reader of the stars. Do not trust my brother. He means you harm. I do not. Do not lose faith in your friend either, nor allow those you travel with to do so. He lives and shall return in time. But do not waste time, hero. Wait some days more and leave the ocean island you've settled upon behind. Soon it will not provide sanctuary as it does now. It becomes far too easy to remain where one is should enough time be allowed to pass, waiting for action instead of taking action."

And with that, she turned away, walking back into the tall grasses, leaving Leo alone with the mountain and the shattered glass.

He felt something cold touch his feet, something wet soak into his shoes. He looked down and there found small waves of saltwater washing against him in place of the grass.

And he opened his eyes to sunlight.

It would appear the tide had come back in.

He scrambled up, not really keen on going for a swim fully clothed and ran back to where the others were still huddled in the tents, unaware of their changing situation.


	26. XXVI Jason

**JASON**

Jason lost track of time. And direction. And really everything.

They flew for several hours, hovering aimlessly over the spot they'd already explored so many times, checking and double and triple checking every wave or off course current they ran across that may have led them to Percy.

"He _has_ be here somewhere."

How many times had they said that? He'd lost track of that too.

Annabeth hovered next to him, pulling a bag of granola bars from her pack and tossing him one. It was getting late, and Jason began to think maybe they should head back.

He pulled back the wrapper and munched absentmindedly on the hard, gritty bar, swallowing a few mouthfuls of water and throwing the bottle back in his bag.

He looked back to Annabeth, wanting to suggest the obvious but unwilling to force her. She sat on her pegasus' back, straight faced and difficult to read, and to Jason's surprise, she spoke first.

"We should go," she said.

"Yeah."

Neither moved right away, making one last sweep of the ocean's surface before motioning to Calypso and Nico that they were leaving.

They flew in silence, a straight line in the sky, as the clouds turned an ominous shade of yellow, bright with the setting sun.

Upon reaching their little island (Leo had dubbed it _Cetus Outpost No. 1_ ), they found the others waiting for them, marching up and down the beach close to the water's edge, a considerable distance from their camp if Jason considered that the water still seemed to be receding.

"So, does the _Island of Delos_ mean anything to anyone?" Leo said as they landed.

No one answered. "Haven't we been there before?" Jason said. "To find Apollo and Artemis, right?"

Leo nodded.

"Why do you ask?" Calypso said hesitantly.

"I met it - or, _her_ ," Leo continued, explaining his dream of the white haired woman in full to the others.

"What do you mean _her_?" Annabeth said. "It's the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, but it isn't a being itself."

"That's true, but what fewer people know of the island is that it was once the goddess Asteria," Calypso clarified. "She was daughter of the titan Koios, the same as whom we're searching for. Zeus made a pass at her after the first Titan war and she transformed into a quail to escape. She fled into the sea and there became Delos."

"So why would Leo have seen her in a dream?" Jason said. "If she is Koios' daughter, it's almost like the voice I heard. How can we trust it?"

Calypso sighed. "Asteria is the titan goddess of prophetic dreams. If we're getting dreams from her now, it's all too possible that was how the Oracle was getting hers as well. It is too likely they are true prophecies for us to ignore their messages."

"Wait, Lelantos said something about not trusting the dreams. That they'd bring about our doom or whatever."

"And Asteria said that he was working against us," Leo added. "I say we go to Delos and ask her."

Everyone looked at him as if to ask if he'd been drinking the sea water.

Finally, Hazel said, "It is plausible. I mean, I've had the dreams too, and it certainly felt rather prophetic. I'm not saying I want what I saw to happen, but I'd certainly like to know if it's going to."

"I agree," Calypso said. "It can't hurt to have some prior knowledge of your enemy, and traveling to Delos might provide us with more insight."

"Alright! That's settled then," Leo said. "Anyone happen to remember how to get there?"

"It's in a group of islands called the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea. In Greece," Annabeth said.

"Right." Jason was starting to wonder if this was going to work after all. How in Olympus could they possibly manage to get all the way to Greece and back before their deadline? It didn't really seem pertinent to visit Delos again, though he had to admit, the idea of having a little heads-up about what was to come did have its appeal.

"Why don't we sleep on it?" Nico said quietly. "Eat something and sleep on it. Decide in the morning."

The rest motioned their agreement. That sounded like a good plan, at least for the moment. They still had to find Percy after all, and, if what Asteria had told Leo was true, the hero was somewhere out there waiting.

* * *

In Jason's dreams, he was alone. It was cold. He was in a cave. And someone was watching him.

Or, he was watching someone watching him, rather.

The titan towered above him, filling the cavernous space in his true, horrific form, arching his back as he hit the top of the cavern.

Koios, with his icy eyes and cruel, battle scarred face, his black armor glistening in torchlight. The blood red diamond set in the breastplate shone like a third eye, penetrating and inescapable. His sword hung by his side like an extra appendage, waiting to be called upon to do his bidding.

"The time is almost upon us, Brother," he said, the razor-blade voice cutting through the cold damp air. "Soon, we shall drag Olympus down. Soon, we shall control all and our brothers shall be avenged. Our father shall be appeased."

 _Ouranos_ , Jason thought. _But he isn't a part of this_.

At least he hadn't been.

Ouranos, the sky equivalent to Gaea. Primordial god of the heavens, the same "father" that Koios once assisted in killing so many centuries ago.

What could Koios possibly mean that Ouranos would be _appeased_? That certainly didn't sound good.

"Oh, yes, Ouranos will finally be at peace for her betrayal, and he will reward us greatly for our success when it comes."

Jason began to piece together the things Koios said, drawing to an early conclusion as to the titans' plans.

Then the cavern shook, Koios moving forward along the wall, looking straight at him…

Bright light burst from the air, a firework at too close proximity, and burned Jason's eyes.

And he snapped awake, cold sweat on his face, the image of Koios' cold, unforgiving face seared into his mind's eye.


	27. XXVII Hazel

**HAZEL**

The moment Hazel saw Jason's face, she knew something had happened.

She had taken up guard duty a few hours before, though at this point no one really saw it as necessary, and watched as Jason staggered out into the sunlight, his face pale and exhausted.

He coughed once, trying to find words, then looked at her and said, "Ouranos."

Her mind went in a million directions at once, seemed to slow down and speed up, part of her wanting to think she'd heard wrong, part of her trying to think what this would mean for the quest.

Jason sat down and waited for Hazel to gather the others before explaining what he'd seen. And what he said didn't sound good, nor did it by any means boost their morale.

"So they're using the ocean as a way to flood the planet, that we already knew," Nico said.

"And it sounds like they're using the flood to get back at Gaea for conspiring against Ouranos," Piper added.

Everyone sat in uneasy agreement. There seemed to be no argument that this was indeed the plan, in which case the titan's had a much larger motivational factor than previously thought.

"You said they were in a cave?" Frank said. "Well then was it underwater too? I thought that's where we thought Oceanus was - underwater."

Jason shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know. There was no way to tell. It was cold, and there was water around me, but I couldn't see anything other than the ceiling and the walls. I don't know what was around it."

"Unless this was part of their plan," Annabeth said quietly.

"If what was?" Hazel said.

"Maybe they wanted us to come here. Maybe it was a trick to throw us off, divide us up, and they relocated so we wouldn't find them as quickly. I mean, Percy did say that Koios could see him in his dream. Maybe he was interfering then. Showing him what they wanted him to see, what they wanted us to think."

It was logical, and it wouldn't have been the first time something like this had happened. Unfortunately, that also threw their previous plan out the window, or what little of a plan they'd had. Simply finding and stopping Oceanus wouldn't be enough now. They'd have to do more.

"So how do we find them?" Nico said, his growing anger barely suppressed.

"The dreams are our best bet," Hazel said. "Even if we don't want to trust them, I think we need to if we're going to figure this out."

"Unless it leads nowhere," Calypso said in annoyance. "More than once now we've been misled with dreams."

"Even if it does lead nowhere, it's the best we've got." Annabeth stood up. "I say we go to Delos. Meet this Asteria and find out what she can tell us."

The others motioned their unanimous, if uncertain, agreement.

"I don't think we can leave yet though," Leo said suddenly, looking at his feet like he didn't want to be the only one to disagree.

"Why not?" Frank said. "We should probably get there as quickly as possible. Give ourselves as much time as we can to find them and finish this."

"Yes, but Asteria also said that we can't give up on Percy quite yet. If we leave now, I feel like that'll be exactly what we're doing. Not to be a downer, but I think we should wait a few more days. I can't explain why, but it just feels right."

"I think I agree with Leo," Annabeth said after some hesitation. "We can hold out here for a little while longer, then we can get going. A few days can't hurt. And if we're deciding to listen to the dreams, we might as well start now."

No one held any objection and they remained circled up on the rocks as Leo produced their meal from his magic tool-belt. They ate quietly, no jokes or stories tonight, and listened as the sound of waves broke over the rocks.

"Sounds a lot closer than it did earlier," Jason said after a while.

"Yeah, it looked like the tide had come in some - considering I was in its way when I woke up," Leo said, scowling as he held up his still damp shoes.

Hazel looked out past them, towards where the ocean should have been, but she could see nothing. Just a black, empty expanse of sand and rocks spread out around their camp. "I can't see anything," she said. "Where were you Leo? How far out?"

"Not very," he said, turning and gesturing vaguely behind him. "Just in those rocks over there. The tide was way out when I sat down and before long it was up and under me."

They all shared nervous glances. How could the tide have come back in on one side of the island and not the other, especially, if anything, the water seemed to continue to recede on their side?

 _Great, now everyone's worried about it_. "It's probably nothing," Hazel said quickly, suddenly guilty she'd asked Leo about it at all.

"Yeah," Annabeth jumped in. "No use worrying about it now. We'll just keep an eye out. It'll be fine. Why don't we all get some sleep and just focus on the plan for tomorrow?"

Nico murmured something about how they could only focus on a plan if they had one, and shuffled behind the others into the tents. No one volunteered to play Security and no one mentioned it. Nothing was here with them after all, save for some strange ocean currents and a light breeze. If anything happened, the pegasi would be sure to let them know. But nothing would happen.


	28. XXVIII Percy

**PERCY**

This was ridiculous. Here he was, of all the gods, _Poseidon_ for a father, and he couldn't leave the confines of this air pocketed room.

All because of a little paranoia.

Percy paced the floor, thinking over strategies, what he should do. The first thing that came to him was to just go for it, plunge himself into the ocean water just outside the doorway and not think anything about it. Just like normal. Only he couldn't not think about it. Too much weirdness had happened already for him not to think about it. Most likely, he'd end up psyching himself out and making a fool of himself as he drowned in his father's palace.

His half brother, Triton, Poseidon's immortal son, would never let him live that one down, that was for sure.

So his other option was to just sit there, huddled like some kid in solitary confinement who's lost his rubber ball.

 _No, this is stupid_ , he thought, anger building up inside him at both himself and at his father for leaving him in here. _There is nothing to worry about, Percy. Nothing._ "I can do whatever I want," this time speaking aloud. Maybe if he mumbled it to himself it'd be more believable. "Yeah, come on, Seaweed Brain, just do it."

He could hear Annabeth now, making fun of him for being such a wimp.

 _Just do it_.

He paced to the back of the room, and, turning to face the door, took a breath and ran headlong into the water.

Instead of feeling like he'd crashed into a brick wall as he suspected it might, the water received him readily, wrapping around him and pulling him close like it was giving him a big, liquidy bear hug. Everything was as it should be. He exhaled slowly, watching as the air bubbles escaped his lips and went racing toward the ceiling, and, as the last of it left his body, he found he could breath normally.

Good thing too, because the air bubble room must have burst when he'd exited and was now flooded with water. He chuckled in small victory and easily propelled himself down the hall to his father's study.

It was much longer than Percy had first realized, and decorated in the most elaborate of ornamentation, white and blue tinted marble carved into intricate ocean scenes and lining the ceiling, their images mesmerizingly clear.

He passed many rooms, doors bolted shut with thick bronze locks, and others with no doors at all, elegant spaces visible beyond the high arched entryways. Percy dared not linger too long at any of them, instead continuing down until he reached one door, taller than the rest and more magnificent in design, an entrance fit for a god.

It was slightly ajar and yellow light seeped out into the hallway. Percy knocked lightly on the paneling and bit his lip when it creaked open a little more.

"Come in, Percy," his father said from inside.

Percy pushed the door the rest of the way open and stepped carefully over the threshold. Inside, the room was a living mosaic of shells, coral, and the like. There was an organic feeling to the space, as if someone had built the walls and let the ocean do the rest. Several brightly colored fish drifted lazily around large stone columns, their gigantic fins trailing them like ballgowns. A huge frieze covered the back wall, the image of the Olympian throne room so lifelike Percy half-expected to hear the gods arguing.

"You like it?"

Percy jumped, having nearly forgotten Poseidon was there. He nodded, smiling sheepishly.

"Good," the god continued. "Now, why don't we talk?" He motioned to a chair that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and Percy sat. "What do you know of Oceanus?"

"He's Kronos' brother, titan of the ocean, trying to destroy the world, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera." Percy was tired of having these conversations. Why wasn't it ever enough that somebody was trying to destroy him? Why did he have to know every last detail?

"Yes, and I take it you remember what his role was in the last war? How Kronos used him against us?"

Percy nodded again. So he wasn't going to get a biography on the titan after all.

"And you understand some of what he has planned for us this time around?"

"Mostly," Percy began. "I mean, we know he's working with Koios, and that they're planning on 'drowning the world' or something. I'm not exactly sure what that means but _drowning_ can't really be good." He shuddered. _Definitely not good._

Poseidon nodded slowly. "I believe he means just that. They plan to destroy the human race with the seas, raise the oceans to levels greater than the world has ever seen."

"Global flooding."

"Precisely, and it has already begun."

"So what has he been doing? What do we have to do? If the oceans are rising can't you do anything to suppress them?"

Poseidon sighed and leaned back in his high backed chair before continuing. "Oceanus has power even more potent than mine," he said. "He has the ability to control _all_ bodies of water. He is not restricted to the seas as I am. Therefore, there is little I can do to stop _all_ of his efforts. He has begun, however, as all great ocean threats begin. The calm before the wave, if you will. The water is receding."

"Wait, you don't mean," Percy said, terrified of his father's answer.

"A tsunami, yes. The largest of them all. A wave to swallow the world."

* * *

Percy stared at the god, unsure how to react. "So, you said he had influence in places other than the ocean? Do I want to know what that means for all this?"

"That is correct. And what it means is that at the same time he has been sinking the oceans, he has been raising the rivers, the lakes, across the world. No one has noticed of course, placed the blame on this so-called _Global Warming_ that the mortals have decided it is their job to fix," Poseidon sneered.

"Okay, well, I'm pretty sure that's an actual thing," Percy muttered.

"What they do not realize is that their lands are about to be flooded from both directions," Poseidon continued, either choosing not to respond to or not having heard Percy's remark. "Oceanus believes he has ensured his success, as I am unable to do anything about a large part of his plan. Now, we do have another problem to attend to however."

"Cause that's a surprise," Percy said with a smirk.

Poseidon shrugged and continued. "As the ocean is receding, and rather rapidly at that, there are many underwater landmasses that have begun to reappear." He paused, as if waiting for Percy to come up with the problem on his own. "Atlantis is one of these."

"Wait, like, the city? The actual city of Atlantis is going to be back above water?" Percy couldn't help but smile at this. This was like, the biggest news _ever_. He'd always liked the idea of Atlantis and, now that he knew it existed, thought it was pretty cool if it suddenly reemerged from the bottom of the ocean.

"Well, not exactly 'back' above the water," Poseidon said with a grimace. "That is just a legend. There was once a sunken city, but the name was unoriginal and nothing is left of it to prove its former existence. Unfortunately, remnants of its civilization survived scattered across the sea floor and as mortals began to discover lost artifacts from these both the actual city and _my_ city came to be known as one and the same thing."

"Oh," Percy said softly. "Right."

"This does prove a problem for my people, however. Though I would not normally be concerned with something like this, the oceans changing so drastically and so often as they do, this situation demands special attention. It is receding far too quickly for my liking, and although I can stave it off for the time being, I cannot do so indefinitely. We must set a perimeter around the outskirts of the city. Ensure that the ocean stays, if only for a short while, far enough away from my people until this has been resolved."

"We?" Percy said. He didn't know he was expected to stay. Sure, he'd gladly help his father out, but at the moment he was a little more concerned about getting back to his friends and helping them to defeat Oceanus and Koios. They only had, how many days now? Percy couldn't remember properly. They had left five days ago, maybe. He been in the palace for one day or two, he wasn't sure.

Either way, he wanted to get back to the others as quickly as possible so they could get this over with, no matter how it ended.

Apparently, however, Poseidon had something different in mind. "Why of course," he said as if it were as obvious as the fact that they were currently in an underwater palace at the bottom of the Atlantic. "And besides, you can't possibly leave like that." He motioned to Percy's bandaged side. "You must heal up before you can go rushing into battle. Come, then. It is late. You'll need your rest if you're to help me tomorrow."

"Wait, wait, wait. Don't take this the wrong way, but I really think I need to get back to the others. We're kind of on a time crunch here. I'm honored that you want me to help with this, but I don't really know how much use I'd be."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Percy!" Poseidon insisted. "You don't think I know you're on a schedule? But a few days surely won't hurt. After all, it all comes down to that final day, doesn't it? Those last few hours? That is all that matters in the end. Come now. You can stay in the guest chambers." And with that, the god turned out of the room and waited for Percy to follow behind before sealing the door shut.

"And it'll only matter if we get there on time," Percy mumbled.

Poseidon led him down a brightly lit corridor, more closed doors lined up neatly on both sides, shell encrusted banisters along the walls, dark glossy slates tiling the floor. The odd crab scuttled out of their path as they made their way along, not stopping for anything but continuing on in relative silence until they came to one room with a slightly smaller entrance.

The panel was a dark shade of periwinkle, a bronze knob bolted down securely, which Poseidon turned confidently, letting the door swing open and ushering Percy inside.

There, in Percy's opinion, sat the ultimate hotel room. Plush bedding which, surprisingly enough, was softer than anything he'd ever felt, even underwater, was laid snuggly over a bed that was overwhelming crowded with a godly assortment of pillows.

"Do you think this will do?" his father asked.

"Uh, yeah. I think this'll do just fine," he said, shocked by the question.

"Good. Then I'll say goodnight."

"Goodnight," Percy said, still not totally comprehending what was happening.

"If you need anything, just call and someone will come."

He nodded and Poseidon exited the room, shutting the door behind him.

Percy sat down on the bed, suddenly overcome with exhaustion, and fell into a deep but by no means undisturbed sleep.


	29. IXXX Leo

**LEO**

Leo and Festus got landed with tide check.

It had been a week since Jason had had his dream and Ouranos had come into the picture. A week since they'd taken notice of the irregular tidal patterns, and had since established that there was indeed something not quite right going on.

The eight had set up a rotation, pairs at a time going out each morning and each night and keeping an eye on how far or how close the waterline stayed from shore.

It was yet to come in on the far side of the island where they'd made camp, and where the tide had woken up Leo before, the water had once again receded far into the distance. Now, as he looked down over Festus' broad neck, the sea was eerily calm, glossy and flat. Too flat in his opinion.

Calypso glided beside him, her pegasus comfortable now and almost friendly with the dragon whose presence still invoked the occasional agitated nicker from the others.

The sun was low on the horizon, not quite blinding but not quite comfortable to look into either. Leo sighed and hunched over on Festus' back, knowing he was scowling but not caring anymore who saw.

Okay, maybe that wasn't entirely true. He did care if Calypso saw, and he immediately tried to correct himself when she did.

"Alright, what's wrong?" she said.

"Nothing." Leo put on his most convincing _Why would anything be wrong I'm perfectly fine! Look, a rainbow!_ expression. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite convincing enough and the look she gave him ordered him to keep talking. "I don't know," he continued, glancing away and off towards the distance. "I know I was the one who originally said we should stay, but now I'm not so sure we should be here for much longer. A week seems a little extensive, don't you think?"

She nodded thoughtfully. He was glad he could count on her to be truthful. Calypso had no trouble with honesty.

"I do agree," she said after a moment. "I agreed with you then as well, about not leaving without Percy, but I can see your point now. Perhaps our leaving wouldn't be the same as abandoning him. Perhaps we will have to in order to complete this quest. As long as we don't allow ourselves to act as though he were dead, I don't quite see a problem with moving on for now. If he really is alright, he will find us when he can."

Gods, Leo loved how she could do that. He relaxed a little. So he wasn't totally alone in this thinking. And who knew? Maybe the others thought the same and just hadn't had the nerve to say it yet. Not that Leo wanted to be the one to do it. No he'd much rather someone like Jason or Piper or Hazel do the talking, especially on such a touchy topic. But if he had to, he had to. End of story.

But he didn't have to worry about that now.

No for now all they had to worry about was the status of the tides. And the current that had just picked up about a mile off the western shore.

"You see that, right?" Leo said, praying she would say no.

"Yes," Calypso said and he bit back a curse.

It was as if some invisible submarine were plowing through the water towards the island, its choppy wake sawing through the otherwise and previously pristine surface. As it approached, edging closer and closer to the shore closest to their camp, it began to slow and finally it stopped completely.

But it was by no means finished.

Where the water calm last, it slowly began to swirl again, smoothly this time though no less powerfully. Before long the spot in the ocean resembled the drain of an old bathtub, a massive whirlpool opening up and sucking everything nearby down into its unspeakable depths.

"Woah," Leo said, both awestruck and horrified at the sight.

"We need to get back to the others. Better yet, we need to get off this island. I think your hunch is correct." Calypso urged her pegasus on, and, Festus following close behind, together they soared back to camp.

* * *

They landed hurriedly on the shore, hooves and claws thudding loudly on the damp sand. The others looked up from their various and idle tasks in surprise, not expecting Leo and Calypso back so soon, coming forward hastily to see what the problem was.

Because of course there was a problem. They hadn't had a proper problem in nearly a week. They were long overdue.

"What is it?" Annabeth said, already anticipating what they were going to say.

"Not sure," Leo said, knowing how his saying _a big something_ would go over with the group.

"We need to think about leaving," Calypso jumped in, sounding much more commanding than Leo ever could. "There's something to the west, just off shore, monster or some kind of magic there's no way to tell, but it can probably be assumed we don't want to find out."

Leo caught Jason's eye and knew they were both thinking how Calypso could call a monster a _Something_ and get no complaints, yet when anyone else said it it sounded stupid.

"Is it an immediate threat?" Frank said. "Like, do we have to leave now, do you think?"

"It's probably fine for now. We need to watch it certainly, make sure it's not getting any closer, but we definitely need to prepare to move on."

Annabeth fidgeted a bit, but said nothing. She clearly was not comfortable with the idea of leaving Percy behind. Not after they'd waited this long. But something in her expression said she knew they might not have a choice.

"I say we hold out till morning," Leo said, watching her reaction carefully. "Even though Asteria said not to give up on Percy, I don't really think our leaving will be _giving up_ on him. He'll find us when he can. I'm sure of it."

She sighed and her shoulders dropped heavily around her. "Alright," she finally said with a breath. "In the morning. We'll pack up the pegasi and get out of here. Leo, can you make sure you know the course to Delos? We can't waste any more time than we have to."

He nodded, smiling a little that she was going along with his suggestion and trusting him to get them to their destination.

They put together their packs and set them outside with the rest of their supplies, the only things left to condense and store the tents, and wasted no time in getting some shut eye.

Leo found himself much more tired than he'd previously realized, perhaps the reality of this mysterious _Delos_ eating away at his adrenaline, and he had no trouble in falling deeply asleep, dreamless for the first time in weeks.


	30. XXX Jason

**JASON**

They all agreed they needed to get off that island quick when they woke up, or rather, _were woken_ up.

The churning of water resonated quite clearly through the early morning air, a strange, all-encompassing ocean haze wrapping itself around them and distorting their judgement.

Jason couldn't _see_ anything lingering just off shore, but he could certainly hear it. Whatever _Something_ Leo and Calypso had seen had apparently moved in the night.

"What _is_ that," Piper said, covering her ears as the sound grew and she emerged from the tent behind him. Annabeth, Nico, Hazel, and Frank appeared behind her, all grimacing as the awful noise reached their ears. Jason tried quite unsuccessfully not to think about what it sounded like.

 _The crunching of bones_.

The pegasi paced back and forth along the beach, nervous hooves stamping the ground and wild, impatient eyes glinting in the red sun of the morning.

They knew something was happening, or going to happen, and Jason wished he could understand them like Percy could. He got the feeling they wished he could too.

"Let's load up," he heard Annabeth say, not quite paying attention but rather staring at the geyser that had erupted from the edge of the massive whirlpool, just visible through the fog.

He was about to say something when he noticed the others staring at the sight too. It was massive, and definitely threatening.

Getting out of there suddenly seemed a lot more important than it had a few minutes ago.

They raced to fold the tents away and stuffed them not so neatly into the bags, making sure to secure their packs tightly to the pegasi before they could be ready to take off.

Jason mounted up, the horse bobbing his head excitedly beneath him, more than ready to go.

He watched as Leo hopped onto Festus, punching buttons rapidly on the console so the dragon (hopefully) knew where they were headed, and waited for the okay. Gods, he hadn't realized how much he just wanted to leave.

Leo gave a thumbs up to Annabeth once he'd finished and took off at once, Festus moving down the beach a ways to get a good running start.

The pegasi didn't hesitate, following close behind. Apparently their eagerness to get off the island had gotten the better of them or they'd gotten over their dislike of the dragon. Either way, Jason didn't complain as the winged horses, somewhat clumsily in their haste, bolted up into the sky.

The ascended quickly, wings hitting the cool air with all their force, and Jason looked back over the island.

One little black spot was left trotting in the sand, and Jason realized Blackjack wasn't with them. "Annabeth!" he yelled, but over the wind no one could hear him.

The pegasus whinnied and watched as the others flew away, watching and straining his neck towards the choppy sea as if he could see something in the distance.

Finally, however, he pawed the ground one last time and took to the air.

Jason looked down towards the sea for Calypso's _Something_ and was startled to see just how large it really was. The whirlpool was massive, and, as he watched it, was growing in size.

Something shot out underwater from the center. From so high up it was difficult to make out the shape, but Jason could've sworn it was a person.

The geyser had tilted as if something had knocked it off balance and now swayed dangerously through the air.

The pegasi stayed far away from it, angling their bodies to shield themselves from the spray before continuing forever upward.

Blackjack suddenly came rambling up beside Jason and glanced over like he was trying to tell him something and knew he wouldn't understand. He huffed instead and flew past.

They raced into the distance, _Cetus Outpost No. 1_ soon overcome with fog as they rose, the whirlpool and geyser out of sight.

And they flew on to Delos.


	31. XXXI Hazel

**HAZEL**

Hazel thought they'd never see land again.

The sun sank through a thick blanket of clouds and haze, no longer strong enough to burn through and warm the frigid ocean air. The pegasi had begun to slow their pace, wings heavy as they beat away determinedly at the fog, their riders straining ahead trying to spot their destination through the mist.

Blackjack continued to nicker softly to himself as he had been since they'd left the last island far behind them. The pegasus' obvious anxiety was starting to rub off on Hazel. His black form glided up next to hers and he bobbed his head up at her for not the first time, whinnying half-heartedly and looking behind him.

He wanted to go back.

Hazel had begun to wonder if they'd left too soon. Maybe there was something Blackjack knew that they didn't, something he'd seen that the others had missed. But it was too late now. They had to press on if they wanted to ever make it.

"It's okay, Blackjack," she said soothingly, unsure what else she could do for him.

The sun reached the horizon and hovered there for just a few moments before slipping away for the second time during their journey.

They'd seen no land.

Somehow, someway which was totally beyond Hazel's understanding, the pegasi hadn't yet given out. They kept going, however sluggishly now, and refused to give up with a determination similar to that of one going into battle.

The night seemed to give them an extra boost, the renewed chill of the salt air reinvigorating them, if only for a little while longer. If nothing else, it got them a little closer to their destination and a little further from the threat of crashing into the sea.

"Leo!" she yelled. "How much farther?"

Leo looked over with a wild, tired expression before snapping his attention back to Festus' GPS and staring blankly at the tiny screen. "Uh," he said as he played with a few minuscule levers to find their bearings. "It looks like, no hang on. Wait, yeah, we should be there." He looked up, clearly perplexed, as he squinted again and tapped the monitor.

"What?" Hazel tried not to sound panicked, but their current situation didn't really leave much room for error. Or any room for that matter. If Leo'd screwed up…

"There!" Frank yelled, barely controlled glee trembling from his voice. The others looked to where he was pointing, following his gaze to the small speck of white almost below them.

 _Land_. It had to be Delos.

How had they not seen it? It was so close, so beautiful.

"Let's go!" Annabeth shouted and no one protested. They glided rather erratically down, closer and closer to the island as the pegasi tried to keep some control in their descent.

It seemed to take far less time than it should have to reach the shore as they dropped out of the sky and collapsed in grateful exhaustion in the surf.

All of the heroes staggered off their pegasi who shook their bodies fiercely and took a few husky breaths. Piper knelt down on the ground and ran the sand through her hands absentmindedly. Frank and Jason just sat down, falling onto their backs in defeat and taking in the strange calmness of the air. Leo slid awkwardly off Festus and arched his back with a groan.

"Well I for one am glad that's over," he said stiffly.

No one responded. Everyone was too tired to say anything else. Leo seemed to have spoken for them all.

Calypso began to unload the pegasi who were stretching their wings out from under the packs in an unsuccessful attempt to ease their load. Hazel went to help her and within minutes they had all of their supplies scattered on the sand around them.

The animals nuzzled them affectionately, grateful to be free again, and all seven munched on the little patches of beach grass that surrounded them before kneeling down to sleep.

Hazel wanted nothing more than to do the same, but it was also obvious to everyone that by no means could they leave themselves unguarded that night. New islands probably meant new monsters and none of them found that very appealing.

They set up their tents and Hazel volunteered for first watch. Leo said he would join her, make the job a little easier for them, and Frank and Calypso agreed to relieve them at dawn.

The others almost inaudibly mumbled their goodnights and slipped inside the cover of the tents for some much needed rest.

Hazel plopped herself down on a patch of dry sand with her spatha comfortably by her side. Leo bustled over with a small pile of leaves he'd gathered up at the edge of the forest and, setting them down, started their fire. It had cooled down immensely since the sun had left them so long ago and they were still chilled from the nighttime flight. The heat felt good on Hazel's skin.

They were quiet for the most part, both content to sit and watch the fire on the water or, in Hazel's case, to think to herself about what would happen tomorrow. Maybe nothing, but she thought that highly unlikely. Not when Leo'd had dreams of this place. Not when they were sitting literally on top of the manifestation of a goddess.

Soon, with the cresting of waves on the sand and the gentle breeze that had swept in off the water, Hazel found herself being lulled into a kind of dream-like state. Beside her, Leo was breathing much too deeply and she thought she heard what sounded like a snore.

"Leo," she groaned, unable to blame him but annoyed nonetheless. She nudged his arm and turned to look at him.

She froze.

There was Leo, sound asleep against a rock beside her. Behind him, just a few hundred feet from them stood a massive beast.

It had the head of an eagle, deadly sharp beak and horrible talons on his front feet. His body however was that of a horse, enormous golden wings projected from the broad shoulders and piercing, intelligent eyes.

 _A hippogriff_ , Hazel thought. She'd never seen one up close, only in stories. They were meant to be extraordinarily loyal and honorable beasts. Certainly not something you wanted to mess with. And now one was staring her down.

She nudged Leo again to no avail. The son of Hephaestus was too far gone. Maybe she could sneak into the tent and wake Frank or Piper, but she was pretty sure the animal would notice and not quite go along with her on the plan.

She'd just have to try and deal with it on her own. For all she knew it was totally safe. It hadn't charged her yet, had it?

Perhaps a little overly-optimistic but she didn't' quite know how else she could think.

So, almost without thinking, she began to approach it.

The hippogriff balked, not too sure about the child of Hades, and pounded one scaly foot into the sand in warning.

That was when Hazel realized she wasn't alone.

"The mount of sorcerers," a silky voice said from behind her. She flew around, spatha tightly in front of her, but she lowered the weapon just slightly when she saw who had spoken.

"Hecate?" Now she was really confused. As if the hippogriff wasn't enough, now here was a goddess who presumably wanted something of her.

"You didn't think I would come when you're seeking my mother's aid?"

"M-mother? _Asteria_ \- "

"Why of course," the goddess said. "And may I warn you, daughter of Hades. Magic is strong here. Do not allow it to overcome you. Listen to my mother's prophecies but know you must be the one to follow them to the end. Do not become misguided by false hopes or fears. Choose the correct path and all will play out as it must."


	32. XXXII Percy

**PERCY**

"Two _weeks_?"

He was furious and making no attempt to hide it from his father.

Poseidon had conveniently neglected to tell Percy that he'd take more than one day to wake up - in fact he'd taken three. Then Percy had helped his father to enchant the outskirts of Atlantis. He should've known better than to rely on Poseidon to keep him updated on time.

"What difference does it make, Percy? Really, I don't understand why this is so upsetting."

" _What difference_?" Percy tired to breathe, a funny notion while underwater. "The _difference_ ," he continued a little more calmly, "is that my friends don't know where I am and literally _need_ me to complete the quest. That doesn't sound like it'd be a little upsetting to you?"

Poseidon brushed off the question with a shrug. "But you've been here with me. If they knew that surely they'd be fine. They may need you in the future, Percy, but you're also needed here with me. Look how much we've accomplished! We only have a bit more ground to cover before you can be on your way again." He paused dramatically before adding, "Unless you want to leave now and abandon your old man to do it all himself."

"My old man is a god," Percy countered, raising his eyebrows.

The sea god smiled sheepishly. "Right! Of course. I take that back. You will be on your way soon though, don't you worry about that."

"Let's go then," Percy said, allowing Poseidon and his victorious expression to go ahead and following somewhat remissly behind.

* * *

The ledge they approached would barely have passed for the base of a dirt mound on land, but the way Poseidon inspected it with such despondency gave Percy the impression it was more than a little incline in the sea floor.

"What is it?" he said, coming up to stand next to his now fishtailed father.

"A hill," the god said plainly. "The top is above the water."

"How can you tell?"

His father chuckled. "As you clearly pointed out, I am a god. I know things."

"Right," Percy said quietly. _Nice going, seaweed brain_. _Can't even ask the right questions_.

"And I've been patrolling the upper waters so I've noticed over time," he continued, shooting Percy a reassuring smile. "It is a piece of Atlantis, fully submerged not two months ago. But now I'm afraid - " His voice trailed off as he moved back around the incline. "We'll begin here." And they picked up the process of moving rocks and placing the largest of them around the perimeter, a very intricate and very misshaped line that Poseidon identified to Percy every time he went to set a piece down.

"So if this is a piece of Atlantis why are we cutting it out of the circle?" Percy said as he was directed to move far around the base of the underwater hill.

His father sighed. "The _island_ has become the refuge of the god Lelantos," he said stiffly.

"Never heard of him," Percy said.

"He's a minor-god, that's probably why. Not very well known in the mortal world; or in the immortal one for that matter. His father is Koios, one of our current foes as you well know. He would not be a problem or a threat if he were not sympathetic to his father's cause."

"But he is. Awesome."

"Unfortunately, yes. By removing this portion of the city, at least we'll be able to keep him from doing any damage here. He won't be able to enter anywhere above or below the water past that island."

They worked their way around, every so often Percy glancing up longingly at the ocean's surface which he could just see glinting in the sunlight of late evening. He worked a little faster. Gods how he wanted to get out of here. No matter how much he enjoyed spending time with his father and no matter how often he'd wished for just such an occasion, he itched to get back to the others.

He followed Poseidon's directions, placing boulder after massive boulder in their designated spots, until he'd gone so far around the boundary that he could no longer see his father. He shrugged. He wasn't a little boy and he'd been told where the rocks went. It wasn't exactly a grueling task. He could do it on his own without supervision. Besides, if he wanted to get out of here, he needed to get this done as quickly as possible. He pressed on, glancing back every now and again to make sure he was still on the right course, but for the most part just moving along, quite pleased with his progress.

That was mainly why he didn't realize he was being watched until the sword was hovering just beneath his chin.

"Uh - " he began and the tip of the blade moved an inch closer.

Two black hooves whisked up the sand by his face and he clenched his eyes shut, wary to move his head anywhere near the sword. A massive rainbow tail flicked the water next to his foot as the merman, no centaur…came around his other side.

"What are you doing?" a deep voice said from above him.

"Who are you?" Percy said, wondering just what kind of monster he was seeing the bottom half of. He could see the hooves, a little hard to miss as they were inches from his nose, and the strong green and blue mottled legs of a horse, but behind that morphed a shimmering iridescent tail. From this angle he would have said it was a Hippocampus, but the green skinned hand that was gripping the sword's hilt was much too human for that to be true.

"I'll be asking the questions, human. Speak!"

"Sorry, but I don't respond well when someone has me at sword point," Percy spat. The blade dipped a little and the hand wavered before finally dropping it altogether.

Percy stood up slowly, well aware of the point still trained on his chest as he rose, and looked up into the eyes of an angry faced, hugely muscled centaur. Merman. Something snapped in his memory. _Ichthyocentaur_.

"I am Bythos," he said. "Brother to Aphros and trainer of Heroes. Who are you to disrupt this place?"

"Bythos," Percy said, knowing he'd heard the name before and unable to remember where. "Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. I'm helping my father with the perimeter around the city. Not my idea, trust me."

The little lobster claws that protruded from the top of Bythos's bandana-bound head snapped in conflict. He hesitated, obviously unconvinced but not wanting to be wrong, and looked around.

"Where is your _father_ then little demigod?"

"Somewhere over there," Percy said, knowing he might be in trouble if Bythos didn't believe him. "We went in different directions, but he's here somewhere." The icthyocentaur nodded slowly before sheathing his sword much to Percy's relief.

"One can't be too careful," he said calmly, twirling the end of his finger through his little brown beard. "With that Titan on the loose, well. We have some who have begun to doubt - "

He fell silent, his clear eyes flashing to Percy for the briefest of seconds before gazing back off towards the open water.

"Begun to doubt what?" Percy said.

Bythos sighed. "The ability of the sea god. Several of our trainees at Camp Fish-Blood, the youngest ones especially, have begun to question who they should be following."

"That's ridiculous," Percy said, amazed that that was even a question. "They should be following Poseidon! That should be obvious. Oceanus wants to drown out the world."

He understood as soon as he spoke.

"Exactly," Bythos said sorrowfully. "Some are more easily swayed than others, demigod. They are given a goal but they see only what they want to see of it. This can be good or bad, but unfortunately, the ends rarely justify the means."

"But you can't possibly let them go through with that," Percy said. "You said you were the trainer? So train them! Make them see that they'll be dooming the entire world by following Oceanus, not just the land."

"If only it were that simple." Bythos looked quizzically at Percy as though trying to decide what to make of him. "I appreciate your enthusiasm though. Son of Poseidon you say? I sense I may have heard of you before, from some other demigods. Perhaps Aphros would remember. You really should meet my brother. He makes the most delicious brownies."

 _Brownies_.

"You did, meet some other demigods that know me I mean. My friends Hazel, Frank, and Leo were interrogated by you and your brother a year ago after our ship was attacked."

"Ah, yes. The demigods who were on a quest for Athena, no? I do not remember individuals often, mortals especially, but I do recall Aphros was quite intrigued with the girl's horse. Are they here as well?" Bythos seemed much more enthusiastic to be speaking of Percy's friends than to Percy himself. He decided not to mention that.

"No, they're somewhere long gone by now," he said a little more angrily than he intended. He wouldn't have wanted them to jeopardize the quest for his sake by staying and waiting for him without any way of knowing if he was okay, but part of him wanted to think Annabeth would wait. He knew she'd do what was necessary though as well, and that certainly did not include hanging around an open ocean for two weeks waiting for her missing boyfriend.

"Well," Bythos said. "I must move on. There is much to be done for the both of us it would seem. And beware, young demigod. There is something amiss in this place. I could not find it, but I can sense it nonetheless. Keep wide eyes." And with that, he swept his forked tail and swam off, his gait a strange combination of a canter and a glide.

Percy looked to see the perimeter had been completed without his realizing it, the other side now closed off in the sand. He turned and swam off to find his father.

He didn't get very far before he heard the whispers.

Everything seemed to slow down and Percy could sense a tiny shift in the current. He reached for Riptide. He turned around slowly, peering into the distance and finally seeing the cause.

A pillar of air dragged down from a massive whirlpool that sat at the surface of the water all the way to the ocean floor one, maybe two-hundred feet from where Percy stood. It sucked the water down, and everything else, into an opening in the sand, a crevasse that split through the rocks. The fissure was a clean gash, and opening that was obviously made intentionally.

 _This is what's making the water recede_ , Percy thought. _Part of it at least. When the time is right, it'll all be released again. It'll overwhelm the earth._

He had to stop it.

Forgetting about Poseidon, he edged closer. Maybe he could bend the water away and cover the hole somehow. He began to will the current into his grasp and watched as the ocean listened to his command. But the whirlpool continued to grow.

He got closer, but as he began to concentrate again, his foot began to slide on the sand, already loosened from the pressure. His body followed. Percy was being pulled towards the gap, and if he didn't get out now, he'd be pulled down with the rest of the saltwater. He felt his mind begin to race, but he forced himself to calm. He couldn't panic. Not now. That was what got him into trouble the last time. He couldn't afford to lose his powers again. He skidded closer.

Falling to his knees, he latched his hands into the course sand, gaining no purchase and trying to push himself away from the current. _Hades_.

It was no use. Percy was slowly inching closer and closer to the hole, could feel the frigid temperatures that leaked out of it. One last try.

He focused on building the pressure inside him, focused on how much he would need to propel himself out of this. Just as he felt his feet were about to hit the column of air, he pushed. With every fiber of his being, he expelled all of his energy, all of the water he had summoned shot out behind him as he shot out back into open water. He landed on the ground, sucking in deep breaths, the water filled gulps doing nothing for his system. The sun was bright on the surface and he could see tiny shadows. Trees maybe. No. Not trees. They were moving too fast. Percy squinted his eyes. _Pegasi_. One at least. And it was quickly out of sight, flying off into the distance. Maybe it meant nothing. The others couldn't possibly still be here…

* * *

Poseidon sat silently as Percy explained the whirlpool and his encounter with Bythos.

The god waited a moment before speaking. "They've headed to Delos." Percy stared at him, wide-eyed.

"What?"

"Your friends. They are headed to the island of Delos. You will catch them if you leave now."

"When did they leave? How long have you known?" He was starting to get angry again. If his father had kept this from him, this information that was so crucial -

"Now. I found out now. They waited for you after all. Curious thing. I'd have expected them to leave sooner."

Percy was dumbstruck. Both at what he was hearing and what it meant. But there was one problem with it. "And how would I go about following them? Unless I swim there but…"

"I can call the pegasus for you. Blackjack, I believe his name is. He will come soon enough, but for now, please don't argue. Get some sleep. It will be of great use to you, even if you don't see it now."

He nodded. He was exhausted. And besides, he didn't have to worry about the others anymore. At least not as much. Maybe he would try to sleep.


	33. XXXIII Leo

**LEO**

Something was ripping his arm off.

Leo's eyes flashed open and he shot up, knocking heads on something hard which yelped and falling back down again.

"Agh, what?"

"Sorry, Leo," Annabeth said, rubbing her forehead. She looked awful. "Can we talk?"

"Well I mean you've already tried to give me a concussion so why not?" She didn't smile. "What's up?" he tried again, a little more softly.

"I had a dream," she said, looking him straight in the eyes.

He shifted. "What about?" He was afraid of what she'd say.

"It was the three of us - You, me, and Percy, I mean. We were on an island, Oceanus came up out of the water - I don't know how he did it, but suddenly he was there before us and - "

"And he separated us and was about to kill Percy?" Leo finished, no longer able to look at her. "Yeah, I had it too."

Annabeth was silent for what seemed like forever. "Ha - I had almost convinced myself it was just a stupid dream. But if we both had the same," she said, letting her voice drag off, not finishing her sentence.

"I'm thinking it's probably pretty important."

"We're going to find him, aren't we, Leo?" she whispered, her eyes now trained on her shoes. Her voice was calm and quiet, but Leo had the feeling if he could see her face, she'd be on the verge of tears.

"Of course we will," he said, letting a tiny flame dance on the tip of his finger between them. The light shimmered on her face and she rubbed impatiently at her eyes with her sleeve. "It's okay, you know. Being scared for him. But he'll find us, don't you worry."

"You believe that?"

"Course I do! Besides, his wisdom still has to be forged, doesn't it? And I'm the forger and I say he'll be back soon."

Annabeth smiled and gave a small, tear-choked laugh. "Thanks, Leo."

"Hey, no problem. I'm here for the comic relief after all aren't I?"

"Ha, that does help, but that's not what I was talking about." She placed a firm, kind hand on his arm. "That's not the only thing you're good for, Leo. Just remember that."

She stood and slipped out of the tent again, letting in a little sliver of hazy light as the sun crept up with the dawn.

The canvas flapped back down and his little flame flickered out. Leo sat in the darkness and smiled, not quite sure why he suddenly felt so happy but glad that he did. Happy beat scared any day, and after last night, he could do with a little change in pace.


	34. XXXIV Jason

**JASON**

"Hey, where's Blackjack?"

Wasn't that the question of the day. The pegasus had been missing since that morning, having snuck off before anyone was awake and the other pegasi were making no effort to help the demigods in finding him.

From their nickering Jason didn't need Percy's ability to speak to them to know they knew where Blackjack was.

Frank and Nico had neglected to see the pegasus' departure while on guard duty, although both argued that the fact that he was so dark would've made it difficult for any of them to notice.

They'd split up to search the island, but Blackjack was no where to be found.

Nothing else could make it any worst, or so Jason would liked to have believed, but he wasn't exactly filled with optimism when he saw Annabeth and Leo approaching the rest of the group that afternoon, their faces serious and both looking more than a little sleepless.

It was obvious to everyone what had happened.

Annabeth and Leo had had a dream.

Jason didn't know about the others, but he hadn't had even a fraction of a dream last night. He felt rested enough, but it was as though something were missing, that underlying knowledge that there had been some activity. Even a dream forgotten always left some residual memory.

The two sat down, no one saying a word. Leo looked to Annabeth to start. She took a deep breath and began to recount their story.

\- ... - ... - ... - ... - ... - ... -... - ... - ... -... - ... - ... -... - ... - ... -... - ... - ... -... - ... - ... -... - ... - ... -... - ... -

 _Annabeth stood close to Percy, her hand gripped tightly in his, unwilling to let go. He was tense and straight faced. She could tell he was trying desperately to stay calm._

 _She became aware of Leo's presence to her left, his heavy jacket brushing her arm as he looked around._

 _It was too dark to see much of anything. A few pinpricks of light glinted above, but there was no way for Annabeth to tell if they were stars or some kind of reflection on a ceiling overhead._

 _Leo made a little gasping sound and took a step forward. Annabeth followed his gaze and was shocked to find the broken body of a giant bronze dragon lying a few hundred feet away. Festus' many plates were cold, glinting dully in the minuscule amount of light that permeated the air. He was submerged in a tiny pool of water and had salt deposits along his back and head from where the sea foam already dried out._

 _Leo looked like he wanted to go farther, reaching out slightly with his hand, but he froze._

 _The earth had begun to shake, the water vibrate, and the voice of Oceanus boomed through the chamber._

 _"_ _Cease your foolish game, children of the gods," it seemed to whisper. "You will find no fortune in it, only destruction. Join us, it is your only salvation. Join us, or die."_

 _"_ _Yeah, cause that's likely," Percy said. "You won't be getting any more recruits today. Least of all out of us."_

 _"_ _Son of Poseidon," the voice cooed. "You most of all should be leading the charge! Join us. You shall surpass even the victories of your father. Together, we shall accomplish more than he ever was able. His power is limited, young demigod. But yours is great. Allow us to help you, but first you must help us."_

 _"_ _Again. No thanks. I'm pretty okay with being_ sub-Poseidon _level._ Normal _demigod is working just fine for me."_

 _"_ _Do you not wish to surpass his ability with your own? Do not deny your desires to prove him wrong, Perseus Jackson. You resent the sea god's view of you, of your friends. He holds high standards for you yet does not believe you capable of fulfilling them; he calls you his favorite but you know this is an invalid claim. So much has happened and yet he still does not ask you about it - so much you want to tell him but are not given the chance."_

 _Percy had dropped Annabeth's hand without her realizing it. "Shut up!" he yelled at the darkness. "You don't know anything about me!"_

 _"_ _But you do not deny what I say," the voice echoed. Percy was breathing hard with agitation and Annabeth couldn't help but notice that small pools of water had begun to form around his feet. She reached for his hand again._

 _"_ _Percy," she whispered. "This is what he wants. He's trying to make you angry."_

 _"_ _Really? I hadn't noticed," Percy spat through gritted teeth. "If you're so high and mighty why don't you come out here yourself and face us then?" He had pulled Riptide from his pocket and the blade glowed brightly in the darkness, his knuckles white against the hilt in the ominous light._

 _"_ _As you wish," the voice said softly, almost the malicious purr of a lion._

 _And the water began to rise._

 _It was gradual at first. Annabeth didn't even notice it until the sea was soaking through her sneakers and chilling her straight to the skin. Leo yelped and hopped away, knocking into her, making them both stagger._

 _"_ _Uh - " he said uncertainly. "What now?"_

 _"_ _Just hang on," Annabeth said, scouring the cavern as best she could in the dim light for any escape options. There were none, at least none that she could see. "Percy? Any thoughts?"_

 _But Percy wasn't paying attention. He was staring at the center of the cave. Where the stone had been completely dry just seconds before was now being engulfed by the incoming tide, the salt water glinting wickedly in the dark half-light. If only that were the worst part however, for rising out of the murk was the clear figure of a man, massively tall and cloaked in a fine, grey chiton, monstrously twisted horns emerging from the top of his scull._

 _His eyes flashed despite the dark, black and abyssal like the deepest depths of the ocean._

 _The water once more receded around the demigods, remaining briefly around the spot where the titan was. As the water slowly drained from around the merman, the great tail could be seen, blue and gold glittering vividly and it transformed, almost without Annabeth seeing it, into two very human legs. His dark green hair stuck up at odd angles around the horns, but unfortunately this didn't detract any from his terrifying nature._

 _"_ Oceanus _," Annabeth whispered. He was even more horrible in person, his stormy blue-grey skin and towering height seeming to close in on her and drag her being down like the current even from this distance._

 _Something moved on his arm, separate from his physical being._

A snake _, Annabeth realized. The green scaled serpent hissed, revealing its dangerously sharp fangs, the spiked frills surrounding its head extending and flexing towards them threateningly._

 _"_ _Well, son of Poseidon? How do I compare to your trifling father?"_

 _Percy raised Riptide and made to move towards Oceanus. Annabeth caught his other arm just in time and held him fast. "Percy," she said forcefully. Gods, if only she could charmspeak. It certainly couldn't hurt the situation. "Percy, you can't. Think this through. We have to be smart about this. He's trying to get you to attack him. This is what he wants. Don't listen to him."_

 _She willed him to put the sword down._ Just put the sword down, Seaweed Brain. _Percy's arm began to drop. He retained his expression of utter hatred, but at least she'd talked him down._

 _The next step was to get him to keep his mouth shut._

 _"_ _Where's Koios, then?" he said._

 _Annabeth made a mental note to slap him if they ever got out of this._

 _"_ _Right here, demigod." The icy eyed titan strolled out of the shadows and across the stony floor as casually as someone would walking through a park on a summer's day. His armor blended in with the pitch blackness of the space, the brilliance of the diamond and his hair exaggerated in comparison. His sword hung nefariously at his side. He raised his hands in a sign of surrender. "Don't you want to try and kill me?" he mocked, staring pointedly at Percy with a malevolent grin._

 _That was it. Percy had had it._

 _Before Annabeth could grab hold of him again, he charged, Riptide raised high as he ran headlong at Koios._

 _Koios, titan of farsight, who promptly sidestepped Percy's skillfully wielded blade and knocked him to the side like a rag doll._

 _"_ _Percy!" Annabeth and Leo shouted in unison._

 _He fell, just barely bracing himself against the hard, frozen rock. Percy moved to gain purchase on the wet ground and reached for his sword, all as Koios approached him and kicked Riptide into the water._

 _"_ _Brother." Koios bowed dramatically and flourished his hands towards the still struggling Percy. Oceanus stepped forward, towering over the son of Poseidon. The water began to rise once more, the salty dark creating a plane separating Annabeth and Leo from Percy. There was no way they would reach him. Leo raised his arm and sent a lone fireball hurtling towards the titan in a desperate attempt to distract him, but a wave splashed up and extinguished it almost as soon as it left his fingertips._

 _The ocean titan's arm extended - the serpent bound arm - and the malicious beast bent back its head to strike._


	35. XXXV Hazel

**HAZEL**

Annabeth and Leo had finished speaking. All eyes were trained on them, holding their breath and waiting for the rest of the story. But there was no more to tell.

Hazel could see the fear in Annabeth's eyes as they recounted the dream and the uncertainty that replaced it when no one picked up the conversation.

"And both of you saw this?" Jason said gruffly, looking around at the others.

Leo nodded. "Exactly. And what about anyone else?" he said. "Any other oobe's to report?"

" _Oobe_ 's?" Hazel whispered wondering what in Olympus Leo was talking about now. Even the others were staring at him like he had totally lost it.

"Out-of-body Experiences? No?"

"Because you couldn't have just said that. Why the acronym?" Frank sighed.

"Cause the acronym is fun to say," Leo countered with a wounded expression. "You trouble me, Zhang. You really trouble me. You understand me, don't you Hazel?"

"Oh, but of course," she said sarcastically.

"See? The lady knows what she's talking about."

"I've seen something actually," Hazel continued, adopting her previously serious expression and pulling the conversation quite abruptly back. "But I don't know that I'd quite call it _out-of-body_. I haven't mentioned it because I wasn't really sure it had actually happened. I'm still not really."

"What happened, Hazel?" Piper said calmly.

"There was a hippogriff last night."

"Come again?"

"Like, the half-bird, half-horse thing?" Leo said. "How'd I manage to miss _that_?"

"Eagle and horse, but yes. And you were asleep. I would've woken you up but you're quite the deep sleeper, Leo." He smiled, running his hand through his hair awkwardly.

"What do you mean it was here?" Jason said.

"I mean it was here. It just kind of appeared to me…along with Hecate."

To this there was utter silence. As if a mysterious mythological beast wasn't enough excitement. After a moment Frank took the initiative. "What did she want?"

"I'm not sure exactly. All she said was something about how she wanted to be here if we were trying to get information from Asteria. I know the hippogriff was probably some kind of sign, but I don't have any idea why it's important."

"Why would Hecate care about us dealing with Asteria?" Jason said.

"Because Asteria is her mother." Annabeth broke her silence and now seemed more animated than before. "What else did she say, Hazel?"

"That we should listen to the dreams - prophecies - but not let ourselves be guided only by what they say. She said it's up to us to make sure they either happen or don't. As for the hippogriff, I have a hunch it might be back. I'll take watch again tonight if that's okay with everyone? Alone though this time. I don't think it will let me near if there are other people around."

Jason nodded his assent. "Cool. We'll keep an ear out for trouble. It's getting dark, should we make sure everything's good before we call it a night?"

Everyone filed off, securing their belongings in their packs and establishing everything to be in order before saying their goodnights and leaving Hazel alone with her spatha, the crackling of fire, and the rhythm of waves on the shore.

* * *

Hazel half expected to be waiting all night for something to happen. Therefore, she was appropriately surprised when the heavy, uneven clop of hooves and breathing started behind her.

She turned around, fighting the urge to not raise her spatha, making herself believe the beast wasn't there to hurt her.

The hippogriff stood proudly, talons dug into the soft sand like a spoon in butter, beak high as he regarded Hazel with kaleidoscopic eyes.

She gently placed the sword down, careful not to flinch when the animal pawed the ground once, and extended her hand to him, palm up to show she meant no harm.

One step.

Two.

The hippogriff didn't budge.

She couldn't decide if this was a good or a bad thing but figured she'd go with the "good thing" option - that was certainly more comforting at least.

Finally, he made his move, moving so swiftly that Hazel barely had time to remember her spatha on the ground. Her fingers felt sticky and they just missed the sword as the hippogriff advanced, bending low and scooping her up onto its downy neck.

It spread its massive wings and they flew.

She willed herself the strength to pull herself up and onto the back of the beast, clinging gingerly and terrified to its neck. Hazel wasn't sure if she was more frightened of the animal or the height. She clung tighter.

Despite the relative comfort of the hippogriff's smooth, strong back, she decided she much preferred the groundedness of the horse Arion any day.

It was bitterly cold and the sky was a photographers' dream - extraordinarily clear, all the stars popping out of the darkness as if in rebellion of the night. They'd already flown so high that Hazel could barely make out the dark splotch that was Delos on the ocean's surface far below. The hippogriff climbed higher.

The longer they flew, the more confident Hazel became that the animal was not going to drop her, and she slowly relaxed her grip on his tawny feathers.

Suddenly, the hippogriff changed course, descending rapidly and accelerating with every second. Within moments it became clear that there was something other than water beneath them. The beast leveled out and there it was, a gigantic, jagged edged island that looked like it'd been ripped out of another continent's geography and was landed here on a whim. He slowed, circling around in the airspace just off the western shore. Something told Hazel they wouldn't be going any closer even if she wanted them to.

There was an opening near the center of the island, a giant crater of some sorts, the land sunken and the bottom to deep to see.

Hazel caught a glimpse of the sun sneaking up from the horizon. It was morning already, though she could've sworn they'd only been gone for a few minutes.

The first few rays of light spread like wild-fire over the crisp ocean, and below them, the landscape began to change, so quickly that Hazel at first couldn't tell what was happening. As the light crept up on the rocks, the rocks seemed to creep back from the light, the sea rising up, apparently in its own mini tidal system, and concealing the island completely. Anyone passing through during the day would never know this was here.

"What is the place?" Hazel said, hardly expecting an answer.

To her horror and almost delight, the hippogriff spoke. "This is the unnatural island made by one with malicious intent. This is the island of your foes from whom you strive to reclaim the world as it originally was meant."

"Oceanus and Koios? Why are you showing me this?"

"The god of the sun and the goddess of magic desire you to succeed, the aid of friends as well as immortals to defeat the titans you'll need."

"Apollo and Hecate," Hazel clarified. "You mean they're willing to help us? Or only that we'll need them to succeed?"

But the hippogriff had fallen silent, his head cocked to one side, listening intently for something Hazel couldn't hear.

A few hazy clouds had moved in off the water and Hazel and her mount rose back up into the clear of the higher atmosphere. Where they almost immediately saw another shape flying towards them.

It appeared to see them and began to slow, a set of long black wings attached to a slender body and its dark haired rider edging slowly nearer.

Hazel couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Percy!" she yelled, and urged the hippogriff forward who grudgingly complied.

Blackjack the pegasus backed up hastily and Percy reached for his pocket. _Oh gods_. She got a little closer and the hippogriff stopped again, hovering at a standstill parallel with the horse.

Percy eyed them warily, not having yet removed Riptide and suddenly seemed to realize what was happening. "Hazel?" he said with an expression of pure bafflement. "What the _Hades_ are you doing? What's going on?"

She fought the urge to laugh, both from happiness and from imagining how ridiculous the situation must have looked from his point of view. Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto, flying to the rescue on the back of a rhyming hippogriff. "Percy, it's okay. This is just - a friend."

"Where are the others?"

"Follow us," she said and they turned, soaring back to Delos with her two missing friends close behind.


	36. XXXVI Percy

**PERCY**

Percy wasn't sure what to think.

He and Blackjack had just flown nonstop from Atlantis, a little more than a day's journey for the perhaps over-zealous pegasus. Blackjack seemed to know where he was going, but Percy was totally lost. He started to think they were going in circles.

And then a hippogriff riding Hazel was flying towards them.

Percy hadn't even been sure that hippogriffs existed, let alone could talk and make rhymes. This one in fact did. Go figure.

Poor Blackjack was still uncertain about their new companion and all but refused to fly next to Hazel. He opted for staying close behind where he could keep an exhausted eye on the hippogriff.

Before long, an island which Percy could only assume to be Delos stretched out below them and they made to land.

He could make out the white of the tents and the residual smoke from a fire long burnt out. None of the demigods were out though and Percy had to remind himself that they didn't know he was here yet.

They set down, Hazel and her hippogriff much more easily than Blackjack who by that point had only had a solid single night's sleep in four days. He nearly collapsed and Percy had to help him ease down to the sand where he remained, breathing heavily and letting out a grateful whinny every now and again.

 _There you go, boss_ , he said tiredly, long lashed eyes beginning to shut on him.

 _Thanks, Blackjack. You're amazing. You need to sleep though now. That's an order_.

 _Aye-aye, boss. Whatever you say_.

He was out before either could say anything more. Percy smiled. That horse was something else. He'd have to make sure he got extra extra sugar cubes when they got back.

 _When they got back_.

Gods, it seemed like they'd never get back. Percy wasn't even sure how long it'd been since they'd left Camp Half Blood. It seemed like years.

He looked around, saw the tents he'd been missing. All the pegasi were crowded around them and had looked up when Blackjack landed. None came over but inspected his sleeping form from afar. Percy got the feeling they all knew what he'd done.

Hazel stood closer to the surf, her back to him, with the hippogriff. She appeared to be talking to it. What they were saying Percy couldn't tell, but finally it bowed deeply to her and took off again.

She turned back to Percy and smiled, motioning for him to come over. "I don't know if anyone's awake yet, but I'm pretty sure they won't mind being woken up," she said, walking confidently up to one of the tents and poking her head inside before Percy could object.

" _Annabeth_ ," he heard her whisper and within seconds she was backing back out of the opening, a frizzy haired, sleep deprived looking Annabeth Chase close behind.

He felt lightheaded. He willed himself to keep calm, but part of him wanted desperately to run and hide until he could come up with something clever and heroic to say. But suddenly she was looking up, stopping short when she saw him. She looked back at Hazel in disbelief, Hazel who simply smiled victoriously and slipped back inside the other tent to wake the others, and she was running.

She was moving so fast, her expression so severe that Percy prepared for the impact of a fist to the jaw, clenching his eyes shut and bracing himself. She slammed into him and hugged him so tightly he staggered a little under the force. She buried her face into his chest and didn't say anything.

"Hi," he said, a bit shocked she wasn't yelling at him for disappearing again. She laughed softly and looked up, pulling away and kissing him. She was crying, he realized.

"Don't do that," she whispered and he hugged her close again.

"Sorry. Bad habits."

He heard footsteps in the sand and looked up to find Nico, Jason, and Leo walking towards them, all three smiling widely.

"Jackson," Jason said. "Nice of you to join us."

Annabeth let go and slipped her hand into his as they met the group half way.

"Hope I didn't miss all the fun," Percy said.

Frank, Calypso, Piper, and Hazel had emerged from the other tent and were now hurrying towards them as well.

Leo stood next to Annabeth and the rest circled up around them. "Told you," Percy heard him say quietly. Annabeth rolled her eyes and elbowed him with a smile.

"So," Jason continued. "What happened?" It was the question Percy had been rehearsing his answer to for days now. He also was yet to come up with an appropriate response. Besides simply explaining where he'd been, which he wasn't so confident he could do successfully, what could he tell them? He had hoped maybe no one would ask right off the bat and he'd have a little time to think on it more.

"Huh," he said, hesitating far too long in an attempt to form a sentence longer than "Nothing much," something he was so very close to uttering. "Well, that's kind of a loaded question…I mean - "

"How 'bout breakfast?" Leo piped up, a suggestion to which Annabeth nodded vigorously and urged Percy to do the same. "I for one am no good till I've eaten something, and I have the feeling this story'll be a doozy. I vote we eat before."

Jason shrugged indifferently and tried to help Leo with preparation. Percy watched and fought to restrain a laugh as Jason struggled to not look offended when Calypso all but pushed him out of the way in the middle of his beating some eggs.

Percy and Annabeth slipped away down the beach, well away from the others, and sat down heavily on a sturdy patch of rocks just at the water's edge. Percy sighed and kicked a shoe off, letting his foot drop with a soft plink in the surf. "Well then," he said, glancing over at her. "What did _I_ miss?"

Annabeth looked at him like he was crazy. "Whoa, hang on. We just got you out of explaining _your_ story, now you expect to be filled in all at once?"

"Ha - no. Little hypocritical, huh?"

"A little bit." She smiled. "I can give you something though, I guess."

She explained briefly the encounter with Lelantos just after the Cetus incident, their stay on that mysterious island with the irregular tides, the whirlpool and how Blackjack seemed so reluctant to leave, and finally their journey here, to Delos.

"I'm just glad you're alright," Annabeth said once she'd finished. "I was so worried - we all were so worried."

"I know, I'm sorry. I wanted to follow but I was - delayed," Percy said with a tiny scowl.

"By?"

"I ran into Poseidon, or, rather, Poseidon ran into me. After Cetus went down, I sank down with him and my dad found me, took me to the palace. Atlantis, more specifically."

Footsteps approached and Percy saw Jason walking towards them. "Mind if I join you guys? Calypso has commandeered the breakfast production and it seems I've been demoted."

Percy laughed and nodded, Annabeth scooting over on the rock to give Jason room to sit.

"Hey, and what was up with Hazel's fancy bird?" Percy said suddenly. "The hippogriff?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I'm not sure we really know," she said, looking to Jason.

"Yeah, no. We're not really sure. We know it was there with Hecate, and from the little Hazel explained after you two got back, it was a messenger for Apollo as well."

"Apollo? What would he want?"

"Apparently he and Hecate want to help us. The hippogriff showed Hazel where Oceanus and Koios have set up production, so if that's not a good lead, I don't know what is."

"Would she be able to find it again?" Annabeth said.

"She says she would. Apparently it becomes covered with water during the day, so we'd have to go at night which might complicate things."

" _Food_!" Leo's voice carried down the beach, a small path of smoke trailing its way up into the sky from camp and the smell of bacon and eggs strong on the breeze.

"I think that's our summoning," Percy said after a second. The three stood and made their way back down to the tents where all eight heroes and Percy huddled around with their plates so they could hear just what had happened to the son of Poseidon.


	37. XXXVII Leo

**LEO**

Leo was happy he'd already eaten.

By the time Percy had finished his story, it was two hours later and no one would have had any kind of appetite after what he told them.

The whole tidal wave thing? Yeah. Not really what Leo'd consider a bedtime story. He could tell from the other's expressions that they felt the same way.

"Wait, so let me get this straight," Leo said. "That thing we saw at _Cetus Outpost No. 1_. That was part of this whole plot to flood the world and was sucking the water down _into the earth_?"

"Yeah," Percy said distractedly. " _Cetus Outpost No. 1_?"

Jason cracked up almost immediately as though he had predicted this would be a question of major importance. It was the details of course that mattered most.

"We needed something to call it while we waited for you." Leo grinned nobly. Percy nodded slowly, not totally convinced. "Hey, it worked in the moment!"

"Thought that counts," Frank mumbled from his seat across the circle.

"You watch it, Zhang."

Frank waved his hands above his head in feigned terror. Percy gave a high pitched almost cackle-like laugh at the strange, twitchy motion of the larger boy, and Annabeth almost fell apart herself at the sound. Beside Leo, Hazel was laughing silently into her hands, unable to control herself despite how she shook from trying. He assumed an expression of complete devastation and placed his hand over his heart dramatically. He saw Piper start to lose it, Frank was already gone, and even Nico was starting to smile. Calypso as always managed to keep cool. She smiled at him and shook her head with a small giggle.

They remained that way for a while, laughing over each other and at each other's laughs, finding it impossible to regain any kind of control. As soon as it began to subside, someone made eye contact with someone else and everything fell apart again.

"Ha - " Jason gasped, wiping tears from his eyes. "I think we needed that."

Annabeth elbowed Leo gently in the ribs. "Told you," she said quietly, just loudly enough for him to hear. He elbowed her back.

It seemed a very long time before they were finally interrupted.

The first crash came from the tents.

The pegasi who had previously withdrawn to the shade of the forest came bolting out into the open, milling around frantically and nudging heaps of strewn supplies with their noses.

The demigods watched, speechless, as something ran too quickly to see through the tents, knocking out the posts and causing overall chaos.

"What?" Leo said, fingering his tool belt but totally lost as to what he could possibly summon that would help the situation. Jason drew his sword. Percy pulled Riptide from his pocket at almost the same time and both of them took a few steps toward the tents as if they were both on the same mental wavelength.

There was nothing for them to swing at however and they remained looking around like the others for whatever it was they _could_ attack.

Whatever it was flew through again and Frank notched an arrow. Piper held her cornucopia at the ready with an expression that said she was ready to make the most intense Thanksgiving feast of all time, and Nico had that look in his eyes that said he was about to make all of Hades erupt out of the earth. Annabeth had drawn her sword and Calypso even had an uneasy grip on a very large, pointy stick she must have found along the beach.

Only Leo remained unarmed, save for the magic tool belt and no good ideas. That was his only problem with it. No matter how cool it was, for it to function it still required that he actually put an effort into thinking up what it was he needed.

 _Come on, come on, come on_. He wasn't really keen on sticking with fire, though that was the most obvious solution. Something told him he'd end up doing more damage than good.

"Ah!" Annabeth stumbled and toppled backward, hitting the ground hard and sending her sword skittering across the sand.

"Annabeth!" Percy started to turn when their attackers raced by once again, forcing his attention away from her.

"I'm fine," she grunted, getting to her feet and brushing sand off her pants with a scowl.

Jason was the next to go down, his gladius glinting wildly as it spun away. He made a move to go after it when his path was blocked by his invisible assailant, whipping back and forth in front of him too quickly to see.

"All right, that's it," he said angrily. A small cyclone began to form around him, but before he could do anything else, another being came at him from the side before running off again and knocking over Frank, Piper, and Nico like bowling pins. Leo heard a surprised shriek and turned to find Calypso playing an apparently one-sided game of tug-of-war over her stick-spear. He was starting to wonder why he seemed to be the only one left unnoticed when something jumped him, latching onto his back and giving him the tightest hug ever.

He lost his balance and fell, only to realize that Percy was finally down too, unarmed and furious.

Leo had no way of knowing how many there were - it seemed like they were everywhere. Jason was apparently in the same predicament as Leo, because he was thrashing around in the sand like he was trying to fight off a cat that'd had a little too much cat-nip.

Leo caught sight of Piper, cornucopia aloft, aiming uncertainly at some place over Jason's head. Squeezing her eyes shut, she let loose something that looked suspiciously like a Pillsbury crescent-roll, sending it spiraling like a buttery grenade through the air until it found its target in a fantastically miraculous hit. Jason rolled to the side and stumbled to his feet as the creature zipped off into the trees. He looked over at Piper, shocked and smiled widely until he realized Leo was still in trouble. Both of them ran towards him as he wrestled under the surprisingly heavy weight of the apparently small being.

 _Oh come on_ , he thought. _Fine, have it your way_. He let a few warning flames dance under his attacker and heard a faint little yelp. It drew back immediately and disappeared behind the last.

"Good?" Jason said. Leo nodded and the three turned back to see how the others were faring.

Percy and Annabeth had both gotten back up and were chasing the whatever-they-were's blindly down the beach. Percy gasped as his feet suddenly went out from under him and he flew through the air, headlong into the dirt. Groaning and hoisting himself up again, he raised a hand impatiently like he was hailing a cab.

"Okay, I think we're done here," he muttered.

A wave of salt-water much larger than the rest crashed on the shore, sending everything in its wake, which unfortunately consisted of most of their camp, washing across the beach.

"Gods, thanks, Perc. I needed a shower anyway," Jason coughed, back on the ground once more with a coil of seaweed over his shoulder.

"Watch it!" Annabeth said, pulling Leo out of the way just in time as a confused creature rushed by them, a little slower than before, and disappeared into the trees.

"Over here," Nico said. "I think this one's out."

The others rushed over to where he stood, sword drawn and held loosely over the small little green body of a girl.

"You don't think she's - " Frank said softly.

"No," Nico confirmed. "She's still alive."

As if on cue, her eyes snapped open, wide with fright and colored a deep, rich emerald green.

"And maybe she can tell us something."

* * *

"No!" Her voice was more like the shriek of an angry bird than that of a nymph. " _No_ help!"

"Look, we're uh - really sorry about all this," Percy said. "But if you can just tell us why you, you know, _attacked_ us, that'd be really great."

" _No_ help!" she repeated, crossing her arms stubbornly.

"But why won't you help us?" Annabeth tried. "We didn't know you were here, and certainly didn't know you didn't want us to stay. Otherwise, we would have left."

The little nymph's face softened a bit, still cautious but less angry. "No help to _titans_ ," she said, nearly a whisper.

Leo looked around at the others to see that all looked to be just as confused as he was. "What do you mean?" he said. "You mean Koios and Oceanus? We aren't helping them. We're trying to stop them."

She looked at him skeptically and then back to Annabeth.

"That's right," Annabeth confirmed. "You can trust us."

"But that one washed away my sisters! And that one hit one of them on the head, and that one burned another one!" she cried, pointing accusingly at Percy, Piper, and Leo.

"I know, and they are very sorry," Annabeth continued soothingly. "They didn't mean it, but can you tell us why you attacked us?"

"We thought," she began, glancing around warily at her unwelcome company. "We thought you were from Koios. No strangers come here, and the good goddess of Delos does not wish the titans to succeed. We must protect her from those who they send."

"Have they sent others before?"

She nodded.

"When? Who did they send?"

"They came in the water - swam around the rocks for a while. I don't know what they were doing, just watching us. And then they left. That was right before the whirlpool, actually. I think they did it, but then one day it just went away again."

Annabeth and Percy shared a look. "What were they?" he said.

"Merpeople."


	38. XXXVIII Jason

**JASON**

Percy sighed. "Merpeople?" Jason said. "But shouldn't they be helping us?"

"From what Bythos told me, it doesn't sound like it. Apparently some opinions have been swayed about Poseidon's dependability. I didn't want to believe him, but I guess this kind of confirms it."

The nymph nodded vigorously. "They do not think the sea god can protect them. They do not think he can win against the Father of the Waters."

"So I guess the tides have been turned," Leo murmured, earning a sideways smirk from Piper and a much more serious look from Percy.

"Yes, they seem to have been. And we're going to turn them back," he said steadily. No one spoke, but the little nymph was watching them all intently, apparently no longer wary of their presence.

"Lady Asteria wishes you to stay one night more. One more night on the island of Delos. One more night for the demigods to learn," she said cheerily.

"What do you mean?" Jason said. "We have to find Oceanus and stop him. We don't have time to hang around here."

But the green eyed nymph shook her head knowingly. "There is always time if that which one has is wisely spent." Jason thought that was about as helpful as had she spoken in Urdu.

"Okay, well what is it we have to learn?" he pressed. "We've already been here for days now; how much more could there be for us here?"

She shrugged and began to walk back away towards the forest. "That is for the island to tell you. I do not know, nor is it for me to know." She left the group staring after her as she disappeared into the foliage, within seconds no trace of her presence remaining.

"Well that was helpful."

"We should resettle the camp," Annabeth said, motioning half-heartedly behind her to where the tents had been prior to Percy's less than strategically placed tidal-wave.

"Good - one problem," Calypso interjected with a slightly scornful expression. When no one responded, she continued, "Our tents seem to have been misplaced."

Indeed, when the others actually turned to examine what remained of their camp, all that could be distinguished along the now seaweed strewn beach were a few poles and some canvas poking out beneath the newly created dunes.

"Super," Piper muttered, no charmspeak required to make the others agree. "Let's get to it then."

They shuffled grudgingly across what once was their campsite, sifting through what they could and divvying up what was still usable. The wet sand clung to their hands and clothing like wallpaper paste and Jason felt the unpleasant sensation of the tiny grains creeping into his shoes.

The dark canvas sheets were painstakingly recovered, dragged out by makeshift tow cables procured by Leo and a little coaxing of the Pegasi by Percy. Soon, more than less of the pieces had been piled up in the center of the beach and Jason, Leo, and Hazel began the arduous task of reassembly. About half way through, they came to realize they were missing a few stray bungees and lengths of rope, but the tents held well enough and no one really cared as long as they didn't collapse.

Annabeth, Piper, and Frank began gathering up firewood from the edges of the forest, hesitant to venture too far into the shrubbery in case some angry nymphs were still keeping an eye on them.

Calypso, accompanied by Leo, and Nico took opposite ends of the beach, scouring the surf for any supplies that may have scattered farther.

The sun seemed to descend on them far too slowly for Jason's liking. He only wanted to get away from this place. It gave him goosebumps to think they were camping out on what once would have been a goddess. Especially if she was trying to communicate with them. That just added a whole other layer of weirdness to their predicament.

"There," he said, hefting the last stake into the ground and collapsing with a sigh, brushing his hands impatiently against his jeans. Unfortunately, both were equally sandy and he was having a hard time believing he'd ever be free of the stuff.

"I guess," Percy said, hardly sounding convinced, as though he was waiting for something else to happen and undo all their work for a second time. "At least the Pegasi are set to leave in the morning. To be honest, I can't wait to find Oceanus and get this thing over with."

Jason nodded. "Hey, where's Leo? I'm starved."

"Leo's right here." The son of Hephaestus was walking, alone, down the beach towards them. No, more like _stalking_. Jason caught sight of another figure in the distance following briskly behind his friend. Calypso's face was as unreadable as ever, and Leo was uncharacteristically grim as he sank cross legged in the sand next to Jason in angry silence.

Jason and Percy shared a look and Hazel watched on cautiously from her tent. "I'm fine," Leo shot before either boy had the chance to say anything. "What's for dinner?"


	39. XXXIX Hazel

**HAZEL**

The hippogriff, who Hazel had informed them was named Eugene, returned as the sun was burning red against the sea.

"Hazel Levesque," he said, dropping silently to the ground and successfully causing eight demigods and a goddess to drop their dragon-broiled hotdogs.

Percy pulled Riptide from his pocket, Frank put a hand on his bow, and Calypso made a face like she'd just been poked in the eye and wanted to know who'd done it.

Hazel stood and took a few steps forward, trying to look more confident than she felt. "You're back," she said, the words sounding childish and chunky on her tongue. She was starting to get that there was no easy way of sounding intelligent around a hippogriff.

He nodded once and pawed the ground, observing the other demigods, his omniscient gaze lingering for a second longer on Calypso who, Hazel was horrified to see, returned it steadily. "You are not leaving," the deep, resonant voice said, not a question but a statement of fact. He already knew, and Hazel had the impression it was not because of their casual eating of hotdogs.

"N-No," Hazel stammered. "Apparently there is more for us to learn here."

The beast nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed, it would seem so." He paused, again setting his gaze on Calypso where she sat beside the others with her hotdog, the firelight making her eyes glint like a wild cat's. "I will return, when the sun again is low." But instead of turning to leave, Eugene stepped lightly closer to the group, all of whom were still sitting in awkward tension as they were stared down by the wickedly sharp beak and shifting eyes.

"What is that?" he said, a strange purr having crept into his voice as he stood directly over Frank, staring at what he was struggling to keep a grip on in his hand. The other half of the hotdog had fallen away and the soft and sandy bun was now thoroughly squished under a taloned foot. The red of the ketchup glistened under a claw and Hazel tried (and failed) to avoid thinking about what it resembled.

"U-uh," Frank swallowed and averted his eyes as not to meet the hippogriff's. "It's a - a hotdog?"

The others watched in horror at the bizarre scene unfolding before them as the hippogriff cocked its' head and sniffed curiously at the unfortunate son of Mars' dinner before snatching it out of the demigods' hand altogether and swallowing it whole.

He shook his head contentedly and nodded in satisfaction.

" _Hot dog_ indeed, as I believe they say." And with another nod to Hazel, he spread his golden wings and disappeared into the descending night.

"What just happened?" Piper whispered.

"It ate my hotdog," Frank said.

"I saw the hippogriff," Leo murmured.

* * *

No one kept watch that night. They filed into their tents and fell promptly, and surprisingly, soundly, asleep.

All that is, save for Calypso.

The goddess could not, for all her immortality, get the image of those awful eyes out of her head. The hippogriff had known, she knew it. He'd recognized her. She'd be lucky if he didn't go back to Olympus right now and report her escape.

But that was the problem.

She'd been too lucky already. And it was about to run out.

Leo was still refusing to speak to her. He'd been uncommonly cold ever since she'd told him what she'd heard Zeus say in her dream the night before, a dream she'd shared with no one else and one she'd made him promise not to mention.

Why did she even say anything? It wasn't his fault, after all, though now she knew he'd think of it that way. But she'd been sick of carrying it around all by herself. She didn't want the truth to be only weighing down her shoulders.

Selfish, she knew. And worse still, telling him had yet to make her feel any better. If anything, she now had an extra weight that made it difficult to breath, compacting her chest and waiting for her to choke.

She could hear him breathing on the other side of the tent, easily distinguished from the shallower, almost nonexistent inhalations of Nico di Angelo who quietly divided the space between them. She knew without being able to see him that Leo had his back to her, and it hurt her. She'd hurt him too, she knew, but had no hint as to how to fix it.

Sleep. Yes, sleep was always a good remedy to any problem. She would sleep and this would be resolved in the morning. It would be fine. And what did she know? Maybe her luck would hold after all.

It would be fine.

It would be fine.

* * *

Hazel was the last to leave the warmth of the tent the next day, and as she did finally emerge, she realized it must have been much later than she thought.

The sun was high and all the other companions were milling around the campsite, hurriedly taking apart and stowing the remaining supplies.

"How did we sleep this long?" Annabeth was saying to a extremely flustered Percy.

"I don't know but I'm glad we woke up when we did," Frank said as he clambered around a rather large rock that had somehow managed to become lodged beside one of the tents. "I for one do not want to wait around for Mr. crazy, hotdog eating hippogriff. Sorry Hazel," he added, realizing she'd joined them.

She shrugged, giving him a small, reassuring smile. She couldn't blame him, but she did know they'd have to wait for him to come back. He didn't seem bent on their destruction to her, unless they counted the hotdog incident, and she had the feeling they'd need him to move on.

Leo had managed to scrounge up a little fry pan and was currently holding it precariously over the fire, a few eggs scrambling inside.

They popped around the edges as the heat got too hot for them and Hazel was surprised to see that Leo's tired expression hardly changed.

 _Not even a smile?_

Calypso was sitting on a rock a little ways removed from the fire, huddled up and staring distantly over at the flames. Hazel took a seat beside her and the goddess looked up and smiled slightly.

 _Gods, why is everyone so grim this morning? Did I miss something?_

"Did you sleep well?" Calypso said quietly, catching Hazel a little off guard.

"Actually, yes," she said. "I don't think I even had a _good_ dream, let alone a _normal_ dream - strange, isn't it?"

"Strange," Calypso repeated, looking at Hazel foggily.

"Yes, I mean, supposedly there were things we still had to learn here, but no dreams? I wonder if anyone else had some," Hazel said.

"I - "

" _Food!_ " Leo called, setting down a ceramic bowl of steaming scrambled eggs and pulling some paper Zoo-Pals plates from his tool belt. They were obviously not what he'd intended, but he smiled sheepishly and handed out the strange assortment of animals.

Hazel looked back to Calypso, wondering what she had been going to say, but the girl seemed to have forgotten, because she was digging happily into her eggs and smiling as she uncovered the little horns of her plate, a pudgy faced, red bull.

"So, who has a story?" Nico said hesitantly as he picked at the corner of his Cyclopes plate. The others just continued eating as if they hadn't heard him, but then it slowly dawned on Hazel. None of them had had dreams either. Did that mean their remaining had been a waste of time?

She felt Calypso shift beside her and saw her look back up at the fire, no, at Leo, who didn't seem to even know she was there.

"I had an - uh- dream," she said, earning seven shocked expressions and one averted gaze. "But it wasn't exactly as telling as you'd all like it to be."

"It's worth something, at least," Piper said encouragingly.

Calypso nodded and continued. "So, as everyone probably knows, I was never meant to leave the island."

"Ogygia, you mean," Frank said.

"The same. That obviously didn't happen, as I'm here with all of you."

"So?" Percy said. "Leo rescued you and you made it out. What does it matter if you did? Nothing's happened so far. No mighty wrath of Zeus has come raining down on us."

"No, indeed. Nothing like that _has_ happened, which also has been bothering me."

"The hippogriff," Hazel said suddenly. "I thought it was looking at you strangely."

"Yes, as did I, but that doesn't matter now. The dream I had has only increased my belief that someone's wrath, be it Zeus' or not, will be raining down on us soon enough." She looked pointedly at Percy. "And it may not be exactly who you're thinking."

"So the rest of the dream," Hazel said. "What happened?"

"Not much. Not much that I'd personally call extraordinarily helpful, at least. There was great power from the sea," she said, adding, "and no, it wasn't from Oceanus," when Percy looked at her oddly. "There were mer, and they weren't fighting with us, I can tell you that. The sky was dark and I lost sight of everyone. I could make out the titans and suddenly there was lighting. I heard a strange voice and then I woke up."

"What did it say?"

But Calypso shook her head. "I don't know. I don't remember, at least. To be honest, the whole thing is kind of blurry. Like I said, I don't find it particularly helpful, at least to our purposes."

"It isn't necessarily _unhelpful_ though," Annabeth said. "We just don't know what it means yet." She set down her plate, a centaur, Hazel saw, with little egg pieces obscuring the cartoon eyes and tiny bow-and-arrow.

Leo still hadn't looked at Calypso, though Hazel could've sworn he'd looked a little unnerved when she'd mentioned lightning. He pretended not to have heard anything at all of her story and continued to move his eggs distractedly around the scaly, smiling face of his Cetus plate.

* * *

They put out the fire and set back to work, all a little more on edge after _Story Time With Calypso_. By the time the pegasi were finally loaded, the sun was far too low on the horizon than it should have been. They'd finished just in time for their friend the hippogriff to arrive.

Hazel, and all the others it seemed, had come to the awful conclusion that time was not what it appeared, and soon enough, the beast touched down gracefully beside Hazel.

"You are prepared," he said.

"We're ready to leave, yes," Hazel said, nodding to the pegasi who were milling uncertainly in a cluster with the demigods.

"Very well, we must leave then, and you must take care." With this last bit the hippogriff looked directly at Calypso who had inserted herself in the center of the group as not to be noticed.

"Take care to what?" she said.

The hippogriff shook his head and rolled his eyes like she'd just asked the stupidest question imaginable. "We must depart."

He stooped to allow Hazel to climb on his back and once she was secure, he wasted no time in taking off from the beach, much to the confusion of the other demigods.

"Cool," Frank said. "Now he's graduated from hotdogs to people." They scrambled onto their mounts and the eight hurried to catch up to the Hazel-napping, hotdog eating, rhyming hippogriff.

* * *

They hadn't flown for long before Eugene suddenly changed course, tilting dramatically to the east as if something was barring his way.

That something, evidently, was a whirlpool much like the one they'd encountered at _Cetus Outpost No. 1_ , though something about this one felt less malicious and more - _observant_ , Hazel decided. The thing, or whatever was making it perhaps, seemed to be watching them, waiting to see what they would do next.

Eugene eyed it warily, but not nervously. In fact, he seemed to be having a stare down with it. Then, suddenly, he began to descend towards it.

Hazel had to restrain herself from pulling his feathers and instead resolved to asking what he was doing.

"The goddess wishes to speak to the Poseidon boy," was the response. Needless to say, not helpful in the slightest.

The others followed grudgingly until they were just feet from the ocean's surface which had grown black in the darkness. The whirlpool subsided and something shimmered beneath the surface.

Hazel squinted to make out what it was that was rising through the water when a woman broke the surface and found Percy with brilliantly blue eyes. Aside from the little crab claws that poked out from her black hair, she was undeniably beautiful.

"Perseus Jackson," she spoke, seeming to grimace at the sound of his name. "I must warn you."


	40. XL Percy

**PERCY**

It didn't matter what she was there for, Amphitrite looked like she'd rather be having tea with the sea monster Cetus than talking to Percy.

"Warn me about what?" he said, just as confused as the rest of them. "'Cause if it's about the whole _titan trying to destroy the world_ and _merpeople gone mutinous_ things than you're a little late."

"No, boy, of course you already know that. If you didn't you wouldn't be here, now would you?" She had a point there. Percy didn't answer. "No, I am here to warn you about another threat, one that pains me to even consider."

"Why are you here at all?" Percy said, not exactly trying his hardest to hide his annoyance at his stepmother. "If it's so important why hasn't Poseidon told me himself?"

Amphitrite sighed. "Your father has turned a blind eye to this threat in foolish hopes it is not true. I on the other hand do not, have never, doubted my son's ability to be manipulated by prospects of power."

"Triton? Wait - you can't mean…"

"Oh, I can, and I am afraid that I do. He has left the palace, taken several of Poseidon's guards, in addition to his chariot and hippocampi. He will not be coming back. I also fear that should he find you, he will do everything in his power to hold you back."

"And I take it his power is pretty strong," Percy said, feeling less and less positive about this.

Amphitrite nodded. "Please, if you do meet him," she continued, her silky voice now somewhat pleading, "try to change his mind. Try to convince him to come home."

 _Well, he already hates me so why not? Pretty positive he wouldn't listen, Amph._ "Sure."

The sea goddess bowed her head in thanks and then locked eyes with Percy, something that was pretty up there on his list of terrifying things he never wanted to experience again. "And Percy, good luck."

With that, she sank back beneath the waves and into the black, the image of her ernest, clear eyes stuck in the back of Percy's mind.

He thought at first he was seeing things, as the water suddenly looked a whole lot lighter than a second ago, but then he realized that yes, indeed, the horizon was just starting to be split by a hairline fracture of orange light.

Someone was messing with their sense of time again. They couldn't have been gone that long, could they? The sun was coming up, and there, directly behind where Amphitrite had been floating and a few miles away, was the dark shoreline of an island.

"Hazel," Percy said, a little more than dismally.

"Yep," Hazel whispered. "We missed it." And they watched as within minutes, the island of the titans became nothing more than a foggy patch on the ocean's surface and the water engulfed it once more.

"We should see if there's anywhere to set down. Somewhere close. We can't keep flying around all day," Calypso said, running a hand soothingly along the neck of her Pegasus.

"Yeah," Percy agreed. "Blackjack's tired too. They're not used to flying this much, and besides, we need to conserve their energy. The less we ride the better."

No one argued and they urged the pegasi upwards again. Now that it was lighter, they could easily distinguish the oceans' surface below them. The only problem was that was all they could see. Leo volunteered to fly ahead and scout out their possibilities for landing and soon Festus was just a speck of bronze in the sky.

When he returned, give or take an hour later, he motioned for the others to follow and soon, the pegasi were asleep on a beach of black sand, exhausted after their night of strange ordeals.

Eugene the hippogriff remained with Hazel, much to the dismay of the pegasi who clustered together far away from their rather rude and unwelcome addition.

He was quiet, though no one complained, and as had become the strange norm over the last day, Leo was avoiding Calypso.

"Hey," Percy said, walking over to the rather deflated looking boy who was toying with some gears and wire absentmindedly. "Mind if I join you?"

Leo shrugged. "No," he said without looking up. "You, Percy Jackson, are not allowed to join me, the lowly Leo Valdez."

Percy was taken aback, unsure both how to respond and where the retort came from at all, when he realized Leo was grinning mischievously. "Well excuse me, Admiral," Percy smiled back.

"Oh, 'your Fiery-ness' will do just find," Leo said, returning to his tinkering.

"Mm-hm. I'll remember that. I actually wanted to talk to you, Leo," Percy said, unsure where to go from there.

"About?"

"Has anything happened? With you - you and Calypso, I mean." It sounded stupid coming out of his mouth, but he didn't know how else to say it.

Leo had gone quiet. "What d'you mean?"

"I mean the other day you two were fine around each other. And now -" Percy gestured to Calypso who was currently standing down the opposite end of the beach with the pegasi, looking rather put out herself.

Leo sighed and stared at his shoes. "You know that dream she told everyone about yesterday?" Percy nodded. "That wasn't the first time she had it. Only the first time she heard what the voice said, what _Zeus_ said, and it wasn't good. I promised I wouldn't say anything about it, but the problem is I can't stop thinking about it." He shifted something in his cluster of gears and the delicate little assembly lost its cohesion, spilling apart, cogs and various bolts tumbling into the sand. Stuffing the rest back into his tool belt and scooping up the few that had fallen, Leo stood and ran his hand through his hair. "I can't tell you though, either, so I guess I just have to deal with it." He scrunched up his face in a forced smile and stepped away from Percy, walking across the beach to where Festus lay, a small plume of smoke escaping the dragons' nostrils as he slept - or, recharged rather.

Percy hadn't wanted to get involved at all, but now he felt more helpless than anything. Leo had decided he didn't want anyone interfering and Percy decided the only thing left to do was not bring it up until he needed to. Hopefully, he would never need to.

* * *

Eugene approached Hazel near nightfall and suggested they leave again for the island. Taking up the head of the group, he first asked Percy more about this new threat known as Triton.

"You will be prepared to engage in a fight, despite your relation to him, you know what is right."

To this Percy simply nodded, not wanting to get into the details of his less-than-close-knit family situation with the hippogriff. "Yes," he said. "It'll be fine."

Eugene huffed in satisfaction and led them out.

Soon, however, it became clear that Eugene's compass must've been broken.

The island, despite the late hour, was no where in sight, and Percy felt an odd certainty that it was not going to appear. When he flew up to ask the hippogriff how close they were however, he didn't get much of an answer. "Close, close, demigod boy. Do not distract the driver!"

Hazel gave him an apologetic look and Percy decided _the driver_ was lost.

"Hey, Percy!" Leo called down from Festus up above them, pointing off to the right. "I think I see something over that way!"

As one, they turned, Eugene only following with a little coaxing from Hazel, and headed towards the dark object that had appeared. It was closer than Percy'd realized and it became clear very quickly that it was not the island they were looking for. It was a figure, and it had seen them approaching.

He brought Blackjack to a stop, the others coming up short behind him, and waited for the being to come closer. Unfortunately, it obliged, and Percy wished to the gods they'd kept flying straight.

Out of the darkness, half-submerged under the black waves, was a gold and silver gilded chariot led by two copper and purple scaled hippocampi. Standing straight and confident rode a grim-faced merman. Percy could just make out the darker shapes of two other mer swimming below, flanking the chariot on either side.

Triton's green skin seemed to glow in the moonlight, his dark hair long and suspended over his head in a thick, well-groomed ponytail. He wore a fitted, set of silver armor, studded across the chest plate and along the edges with glossy white, blue, and black pearls.

The hippocampi came to a halt as they neared the pegasi, both parties nickering uncertainly at the new arrivals.

"Percy, that's - " Annabeth whispered at his shoulder.

"I know," he said, doing his best to not sound worried. He wanted to tell her to get the others away from there, but he knew it'd do no good. He didn't want his friends caught in the middle, but after their last incident, he was pretty positive separation wouldn't be seen as an option. "I'll go talk to him," he said instead, biting his lip and urging Blackjack forward before Annabeth could protest.

Percy's half-brother grinned wickedly as Blackjack approached, and Percy was rather surprised to see that Triton had nothing in the chariot with him aside from a huge conch shell hanging at his side, the thick bands of color that wrapped around it much like those that covered over-priced "authentic artifacts" in beach-front gift shops.

"Perseus," the merman said cordially, offering his hand for Percy to shake.

"So I hear you've joined the wrong side," Percy said, ignoring him. Triton's smile broke coldly and he retracted his arm back to his side where he let it rest protectively over the odd shell.

"And I see you've been speaking to my mother," he said steadily. "She has no right to interfere in affairs she knows so little about."

"She can't boss you around, you mean. Sorry to have to break this to you, Tri, but that's kinda what mom's do." Triton smirked and made to speak. "Godly or otherwise," Percy added, cutting him off.

Triton rolled his eyes dramatically. "You, likewise, know nothing of the situation. Do you think you're just going to stroll right up to the titan of the sea and save your pitiful little mortal friends? Use some of your supposed _powers_ on him and send him back to the abyss?"

"Well, first of all, we were planning on flying up to him, but after that, yeah. That's basically the plan. I'm glad to see we're on the same page here."

Triton laughed, and Percy couldn't help but imagine he looked more than a little like a maniacal dolphin. His double tail flashed green beneath the water in irritation and he locked eyes with the mortal son of Poseidon. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that." His voice was deadly quiet and his grey eyes too intense. His hand had locked on the conch and he lifted it from his side, a strange glint in his eye.

"What is that thing? You stop by the Atlantis gift-shop on your way out of the palace?"

Instead of answering however, Triton raised the hollowed end of the shell to his lips, shut his eyes, and blew.

The sound Percy heard next was unlike anything he could ever have imagined. The horrible, piercing noise struck his eardrums and filled his head with what he imagined the pressure at the bottom the Mariana Trench must have felt like. Blackjack reeled, nearly taking a nosedive into the sea before Percy grabbed hold of his mane and yanked him back up and away from Triton.

It was obvious that the others were in an equal amount of distress, every animal, including Eugene the hippogriff, losing control and thrashing around violently. The pegasi all shook their heads violently, searching the dark star-pocked sky for a nonexistent escape route.

The sea roiled beneath them, silent only around Triton's chariot.

Finally, the sound subsided.

Percy's head felt like it was going to explode and he found he couldn't hear whatever stupid thing it was that Triton was saying now.

"…seidon doesn't have any idea what's going on here. If that ancient excuse of a god really understood what Oceanus and the other titans have been trying to accomplish for centuries, he'd support them with no question. But none of the Olympians care about sharing their power. All they care about are the tributes and honor they get from the land-bound mortals. And that's exactly why it has to go - the land, I mean."

"The mortals, you mean," Percy said through gritted teeth. He couldn't believe he was listening to this.

Triton grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly!" he shouted, throwing his arms over his head, conch still in hand. Blackjack bucked in panic and Percy did his best to hold him still, bending low as not to fall off and whispering softly to him.

"Come with us, Jackson, Brother. Join us." He held out his hand again, an plea for trust, and again, Percy ignored it.

"We aren't brothers. Not if you can think that way about innocent people."

" _Innocent_ is a relative term."

"So is _powerful_ ," Percy said quietly. Triton chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.

"Whatever." He dropped his arm again and replaced the conch at his side. He had that weird glint in his eye again and Percy didn't like it. Triton flicked his wrist and Percy got a blast of freezing water to the face. He didn't have time to react and, as consequence, he found himself soaking wet atop a frantic Blackjack now spinning wildly through the air.

Triton broke down in a fit of hysterics, doubling over across the front of the chariot, hitting the side with a fist and startling his hipocampi.

 _Blackjack_.

 _Yeah, boss_.

The pegasus turned and flew back up to where the group had retreated after Titan's first attack, not stopping once he'd reached them but flying past, straight faced, headed back out to sea.


	41. XLI Leo

**LEO**

They were back on the island.

It was a dark and stormy night.

They were back on the island.

It was a slightly darker and stormier night.

They were back on the island.

Leo was asleep before he could see it was a _pitch black and broiling sky_ kind of night, but he figured it was probably, again, some kind of a dark and stormy night.

Leo was sick of being back on the island.

It was like someone was messing with the sun to make it seem later than it was, like when you wake up at three in the morning but read the time wrong on the clock and think it's seven. A scenario in which Leo would still go back to bed. But that kind of thing.

It was disorienting and _Groundhog Day_ -ish and they were clearly all sick of it.

No one had any dreams.

No one had any plans.

"Well, when you put it that way, it sounds like we're a bunch of slacker teenagers who won't do what anyone says," Leo said.

"Are you suggesting that we're not a bunch of slacker teenagers and will do what anyone says?" Piper said, munching carefully at the edges of a granola bar.

The others smiled and Calypso actually giggled.

Although no one seemed to notice, she covered her mouth abruptly and took a sudden and keen interest in her water bottle.

Leo turned his attention back to the fire which was slowly beginning to sputter and prodded the logs unconsciously with his hand.

"Leo," Frank said softly from beside him.

"Mm-hm."

"Can you maybe, I dunno, not do that?"

Leo looked at him distractedly. "Do what?"

"You know, the whole 'Oh look, it's a flameless candle, watch me put my hand in it' thing…" Frank shifted uncomfortably, his ears and cheeks reddening noticeably, not just from the firelight.

" _Get yours now for just two easy payments of 9.99! But wait, there's more!_ " Leo said, doing his best impression of the QVC hostess and removing his hand, much to Frank's obvious relief and much laughing.

"What is a 'flameless candle'?" Eugene grumbled directly between Leo and Franks' heads. Both jumped, Frank perhaps a little more spastically, and all Leo could think was, _Gods, right when we've gotten used to Nico sneaking up on us like that, now there are two of them._

"Without the fire, when would simply the wax be required?"

The hippogriff was thoroughly confused.

"Well, you see, Eugene, there is a flame, but it's false, and as for the wax, I guess it's needed by default," Leo said.

"But then is it a candle, if the properties are off? I would think that beside a real one, at it anyone would scoff." Eugene was serious about this.

Unfortunately for everyone else, so was Leo. "Oh, no, certainly not, for the properties aren't wrong. When you put them all together, the light produced is very strong."

"You perplex me, demigod-boy, but I will accept your explanation. For now, I suppose your experience provides your words a certain justification." Eugene bowed his head respectfully and backed away from the fire once more, obviously done with the conversation.

"Did you just win a rap battle with a hippogriff?" Percy said.

"Is that surprise that I hear, Jackson? Oh please, I only gave him a fraction. My skills are never-ending, just like _Star Wars_ and endothermic reactions!"

"Do you even know what an endothermic reaction is?" Annabeth said with a weary smile.

"'Course," Leo said, grinning widely. "It's some heat thing you learn about in science class that no one ever remembers about."

"He's not wrong," Piper said.

"Gods, well I am going to bed," Annabeth said, standing up and shuffling stiffly off to the tents.

"Good-morning," Percy called after her.

"Good-afternoon!" Leo added.

"Bonne nuit!" Piper said, earning some odd looks from Jason, Frank, and Nico. "What?" she smiled.

Leo began tapping a knuckle on the rock he was sitting on, a little pattern of morse, to which he got even stranger looks. He shrugged. "Hey what can I say, I just have to have the last word."


	42. XLII Jason

**JASON**

"So, am I wrong that it's been a week?"

The others just stared forlornly at Jason. Annabeth gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. "And that puts us at September twenty-first."

"But that's kind of okay though, isn't it?" Leo said the thinest shred of hope squeezed into his voice. "This eclipse thing isn't supposed to go down until the twenty-third."

"Technically the twenty-second," Hazel said. "It supposed to happen in the morning. So, like, midnight."

Leo nodded in defeat. "Of course it is."

"But how in Olympus are we supposed to make it to the island by then if we can't even find it?" Frank put in. "I mean, it's not like they're just going to reveal it to us at the last second."

"Maybe they're working on getting the neon sign put up."

"Yeah, something nice and simple like, _Apocalypse Headquarters_."

"And an arrow."

"An arrow would be nice."

"Why do I think that's not happening?" Jason interjected. "Our best bet now is to just try one last time. We've found it before, or Hazel has, rather."

Eugene cleared his throat loudly.

"Okay, _Eugene_ found it. It doesn't really matter. It was found. I'm sure we can do it again."

"I could find it again. After all, it's coordinates are the same," Eugene protested.

"I don't think anyone doubts you, Eugene," Hazel said calmly. "But I do think it's pretty clear that someone is preventing us from finding it at all. Someone who knows when we're coming and how to hide it from us."

"You think Koios?" Percy said. "He's got that whole _predicting the future_ thing going for him."

"Probably a good bet," Annabeth said. "And he's probably using Oceanus to hide the island."

"Awesome. So how do we get around that?" Jason said.

"Wait," Piper said suddenly. "You guys remember that shell that Triton had?"

Jason shivered. "How could we forget?"

"Do we actually know what it does? I mean, it seemed to be doing something to the water, or was that just me that noticed?"

Percy nodded. "No, you're right. It created a current everywhere around him. But I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"I feel like there was some odd little fact about Triton that I half-remember from someplace. Something to do with shells; weapons he uses, maybe?" She looked around for any takers.

"The only thing I've ever seen him carry is a trident," Percy said. "But I didn't see it on him this time."

"You've never seen the conch then?" Jason said. Percy shook his head, miffed as to what the obvious weapon had been.

"Hang on," Annabeth said, apparently coming upon some Athenian breakthrough. "Hang on, you might be right, Piper. I remember something too."

"Would you like to share?"

"Triton was known for carrying a conch. It was like his signature, just like Poseidon's is the trident. He used it against the giants way back when. Scared them back into the mountains." She paused. "And, if I'm getting this right, it also has the ability to raise and calm the waters."

"And that would mean that he's the one concealing the island?" Jason said. "Is that where we're going with this?"

Annabeth nodded, looking around the circle and finding that the theory seemed to be sticking. It was logical, Jason had to admit. And, given the little sibling rivalry that seemed to be up between Percy and Triton, it only made sense that the merman would want to mess with them like that.

Percy stood up. "We're not going out tonight," he said certainly, to which the others simply stared at him like he'd just suggested they set up a lemonade stand on their little abandoned island. "If Triton is expecting us, not going will throw him off guard."

"Or he'll just assume he missed us," Nico said.

"No, I don't think so. He's stupid, but he's not a total moron. He'd know better than to assume anything. Tomorrow, we'll leave early and go around. Find it from the opposite shore."

"But there's still the problem of Koios to worry about," Hazel said. "Won't he still see us coming and warn Triton?"

"I don't think that will be a problem," a deep, singsongy voice said from behind them.

Eugene the hippogriff perked up immediately from across the beach and made his way hastily over to the new arrival, bowing low before the jean-clad, bright eyed man. "Lord, I have done as you requested, helped the demigods on their quest, though now, I feel, you know how to continue the best."

"Thank you, friend Eugene. I can take over from here. You have served me well," Apollo said, counting off the syllables on his fingers and, giving a little bow, approached the fire.

"Uh," Jason said.

"What are you doing here?" Percy added.

"What, didn't you just hear me? I'm here to help, Jackson, but don't get too excited or anything."

"Why did you say Koios wouldn't be a problem?" Annabeth said.

"Oh, for Zeus' sake, (cue thunder), do _all_ of you have a hearing problem? I said - "

"You're going to help, yes, we heard. How?" Percy interrupted, earning a winning Annabeth signature, _I'm going to slap you when this is over_ look.

The god shrugged. "I'll just poof you over there. Simple. But you might want to pick up that trident first. I hear those things rust pretty quick out of water."


	43. XLIII Hazel

**HAZEL**

No one could say when it had gotten there, but there it was indeed. A silver trident, lying in the sand at the waterline. The handle was swirled with what Hazel recognized as abalone, and pearlescent stones and pieces of glass were imbedded along its length to form intricate designs of waves and various examples of marine life.

All in all, it was beautiful and unmistakably meant to act as a weapon.

"You can't be serious," Percy muttered as he took measured steps towards the surf, picking the trident up gingerly as if it was alive before looking it over carefully.

"Whoa," Leo said. "Percy, I didn't know you had a trident too. That's like, a whole new level of cool."

"Well, when I get one I'll let you know. This is Triton's."

"Oh," Leo said meekly.

"But why is it here?" Frank said. "If it belongs to Triton - "

"He must have left it at the Palace," Percy said. "According to Amphitrite, it didn't seem he was going back, and if he's turned against Poseidon - "

"A little minor-god rebellion," Annabeth said.

Percy nodded. "Poseidon sent it," he said, turning it to grip it better.

"How do you know that? Is there a note? A hidden message?" Leo said, eagerly leaning forward to better make out the swirling designs along the metal like they might hold some clue.

"No, but he's the only one who could have. He gave this to Triton, and it sounded like my dad wasn't too into the idea of his son turning like that. He probably wants me to try and change his mind too." Percy sighed. "Because that went _so_ well."

"Or he wants you to use it," Nico said, sounding more hopeful than usual. "Maybe it belongs to you now."

"Something tells me no, but maybe it won't be so bad to have around. Just in case." Percy walked to Blackjack and stowed it carefully in the side of the saddle, securing it in place with a bungee and checking it over to make sure it wouldn't come loose.

"Now, about that transport," Apollo said, crossing his arms over his chest and plopping down comfortably on a rock beside the group. "I agree with Jackson, waiting a day and charging in last minute might work in your favor. Therefore, I'll be back. In the meantime, however, I'd keep a watch. There's some weird stuff going on, mer-wise out here. Wouldn't want anything to happen before the big showdown." He flashed a smile. "But on the other hand, I see that Eugene is nice and at home with you guys. Glad to hear it. He's a hard working hippogriff if I do say so."

Eugene bowed his head and did what Hazel supposed was the hippogriff equivalent to a blush.

"Yeah, he's great. Though you know, that whole rhyming thing - " Leo began.

"I know! It's great, isn't it?" Apollo grinned, patting Eugene on the beak. "I find it very inspirational."

"Uh, yeah. _Inspirational_ ," Hazel said.

"Hey, listen. I really gotta fly," the sun god said suddenly, standing and looking around. If Hazel didn't know better, she'd have said he was a little on edge. "Good luck and remember - _I'll be back_." The last part he said with a strange, strained huskiness and a heavily exaggerated German accent. And with that, he poofed away.

Leo looked extraordinarily conflicted like maybe he'd missed something important. "Wait, so Apollo is an Arnold Schwarzenegger fan?"

* * *

Time wouldn't move quickly enough that night or the next day, and Hazel was not the only one having trouble standing still. It felt a little like waiting your turn in some competition and worrying every second that you've both forgotten something and are going to miss the start.

Then, finally, after hours of waiting and checking the pegasi for the fourth and fifth times, Apollo reappeared in a funny little orange ball of flame.

"Ready, folks?"

He was far too cheery and received a grumbled chorus of _ready_ 's in response.

"I'm surprised," Hazel heard Percy mutter.

"'Obviously I faced the possibility of not returning when first I considered going. Once faced and settled there really wasn't any good reason to refer to it'," Apollo said loudly as he walked among the cluster of demigods, pegasi, and Festus the dragon who was watching the god intently.

"Really?" Piper said. "Amelia Earhart?"

Apollo shrugged and threw her a wink. "All demigods and lady," he said, glancing and smiling covertly at Calypso. "Please take your seats, _Air Apollo_ is now preparing for departure."

Hazel made herself as comfortable as possible atop her pegasus and held on tight. Eugene stood beside her as he had volunteered to accompany them on his master's behalf, and looked at her reassuringly. She couldn't tell if she was more worried about their chosen form of transportation or the uncertainty about what they were going to see when they arrived, but she forced herself to banish those thoughts from her head and concentrated instead on keeping both hands around the reins.

"And remember: please no smoking and, as always, enjoy your flight!"

And the eight demigods, a goddess, pegasi, a dragon, and a hippogriff all disappeared in smoke.


	44. XLIV Percy

**PERCY**

There was nothing but darkness pressing in on them from every direction.

Percy felt a small jolt as the ground was abruptly removed from under Blackjack and immediately recognized a strange sense of - displacement, he guessed, as their black, smokey veil began to dissipate.

 _Did it work, boss?_ Blackjack whispered as he adjusted his wings to hover more comfortably.

Percy didn't answer right away and instead peered intently around them and into the impenetrable gloom. They appeared to be over water, no surprise there. The only thing that bothered him was he couldn't manage to tell _where_ they were. His sense of direction and internal nautical compass seemed to be faulty. In fact, as he thought about it now, he hadn't had any sense of it since their encounter with Cetus…

The dense sea mist shifted heavily around them, messing with his eyes and making little human-like shapes appear in the distance.

"There," Annabeth said suddenly, having sidled up beside him, pointing down to a space in the clouds that seemed suspiciously darker than the rest.

Percy nodded and urged Blackjack on, the others forming a tight group as not to lose each other in the fog. Even Festus seemed to disappear at moments if Percy wasn't watching.

They moved hastily, uneasy about their total blindness and enemy's unknown location, but it wasn't long before they came to the dark landmass behind the cloud-wall.

It emerged faster than Percy expected and tore through the cloud cover with giant spikes of stone that appeared to rise up to the very top of the structure. A boulder strewn beach sat directly below them and they hesitantly descended towards it, meeting no opposition as they set down.

They were alone.

"I don't like this," Annabeth whispered as she climbed down from Porkpie's back and gripped her sword's hilt nervously.

Percy jumped down from Blackjack and uncapped Riptide. "Something's up alright." Blackjack nudged his shoulder from behind.

 _Don't you need the fork, boss?_ he said, motioning behind him.

"The fork," Percy repeated, thoroughly confused. "Oh, the trident. Yeah, thanks." He unceremoniously removed the weapon from its bungee and held it awkwardly for a moment trying to decide what to do with it.

 _The fork_ , he thought again, smirking a little at the image of Triton swimming around poking people with an eating utensil. Suddenly, the metal seemed to grow warm in his hands and he almost dropped it in surprise. The silver shone more brightly even though there was no light to make it do so, and the little designs seemed to shift slightly around in their places.

It took Percy more than a second to realize what was happening, and before he could react, the trident was shrinking until it was no bigger than a typical piece of silverware.

"That works," he mumbled, shocked that it was really that easy. He stuck the mini-trident in his pocket, praying to Poseidon that it wouldn't suddenly decide to grow again and spear him, and patted Blackjack's nose reassuringly.

He stepped away again, the others huddling tightly together and eyeing the eerie, empty blackness of the rock wall beside them. Annabeth caught his eye and nodded, motioning to the others to follow her a little ways along the beach, checking the surface of the slick, icy stone as they went.

"Everyone stay close," Percy muttered, not too keen on having anything hear them. Something told him that his discretion wouldn't matter; whatever was here was most definitely already aware of them. It was biding its time, letting them go on, watching them until its master told them they were ready.

Not like they really had much choice but to keep moving. They'd fought their way out of plenty of corners before. Percy was sure they could do it again. He had to be sure.

He gripped Riptide a little more tightly. "Let's go."

* * *

Calypso, Nico, and Hazel stepped forward to stay behind with the pegasi, promising to get some kind of message to the others if anything went awry. Eugene the hippogriff was happy enough to remain where he was while Festus gave Leo a mechanical grunt of worry before the rest set off.

 _Keep an eye on them, bud_ , Percy said as Blackjack nuzzled his shoulder, stamping his hooves a few times in obvious agitation.

 _'_ _Course, boss. I ain't scared. No, you can count on me_.

Percy definitely owed that horse big time.

For what it was worth, everyone seemed (almost) calm, even when they all could have agreed that it seemed they were walking in circles. The dark too easily disoriented their senses and nothing familiar seemed to be where it was supposed to. The sharp edged rock face glittered in the light of their weapons as they passed by and more than once did Percy imagine pairs of hungry demonic eyes peering out at him from the sea spray.

His imagination was not far off, but he was (not quite) happily oblivious.

The wall loomed overhead for several hundred more feet and the moon rose up behind it, full and distorted through the fog. It glared down on the little demigods who trailed along the sand, crisscrossing the beach with jagged bars of blue spotlights as if daring them to make a move.

Suddenly and without warning, the bars began to shift erratically as the ground started to tremble.

"Guys," Jason said cautiously.

"You don't say?" Leo whispered.

"This can't be good," Frank said.

The shaking increased, gradually at first, until it was difficult for Percy to keep his footing and he instinctively grabbed for the nearest outcrop of rock. He flinched as he slipped on its wet surface and felt the stone dig into his palm. A thick, dark line spread as he pulled his hand away, but he presently had greater problems to worry about.

Out of the darkness and the crashing of the surf, a louder, more dangerous sound resonated that made Percy grimace more than the fresh cut.

"Don't tell me - " Piper said as they took a collective step back and watched as two royal Hippocampi emerged from the gloom, drawing behind them a silver gilded chariot and a very unamused Triton.


	45. XLV Leo

**LEO**

Even though he knew Triton's magic conch was supposed to make Leo afraid of him, all he found it did was make him angry. All it did was make him want to throw a fireball or two and burn that mocking smirk from the merman's pretty green face.

He also knew this would probably be a bad idea. If Triton was causing this trembling Leo didn't want to find out what kind of damage he could do if he was really mad.

"Welcome," Triton said, more of a growl than a greeting. He nudged the hippocampi forward and whispered to them harshly even when their fronts were nearly fully exposed on the blackened beach. They nickered nervously at the ground but silenced themselves quickly, clearly well acquainted with their master's short temper.

Leo watched Percy grip his sword a little tighter and stand defiantly before his immortal half-brother and he wished he could look half as impressive - unfortunately, a tool belt did not exactly strike him as "impressive" and he was short on magic swords. Maybe he could summon one - he'd never tried that before, it had never crossed his mind. Now _that_ would be impressive, suddenly drawing a celestial bronze sword - or a hammer maybe - out of the belt and challenging his enemies to battle…

"…can't really let you pass." Triton had been talking and Leo had missed it. No one seemed to have noticed he'd spaced though. They were all too preoccupied with the intimidating and sour faced merman who, Leo now noticed, had begun to move from his chariot.

A strange, etherial light began to pulse from somewhere behind him and for some reason Leo found he couldn't look away and for some other reason Percy was yelling at him but he couldn't hear what he was saying and then he was on the ground and Annabeth was on top of him and there was a blast of white light blistering and freezing as it swept over them and the island.

Annabeth coughed sand and rocks and sat up next to Leo who blinked out the dust from his eyes, squinting through the chalky haze that now filled the air and seeing the figure walking calmly towards them.

Triton had his conch in hand and was still glowing slightly, or maybe it was just Leo's eyes and the fuzzy edges the dust was creating that made it seem that way.

"Leo, get up." Annabeth had stood and was now staring coldly at their foe, as was Percy but Leo didn't think he had ever stopped.

The son of Hephaestus staggered up and instantly felt just a tad sub-par standing between the two others.

 _The_ two _others_ -

Jason, Frank, and Piper weren't there.

And then he saw what Triton had actually done. His friends weren't the only ones missing. In fact, there was a whole strip missing in the ground around them and the island-like part that Leo, Annabeth, and Percy now stood on seemed not exactly stable.

"What are you playing at?" Percy shouted, raising Riptide a little higher as Triton got nearer.

"What am I?" he chuckled. "Well what do you think, Jackson? What do you think I am 'playing at'?"

"Let me think. Oh, that's right. World domination sounds pretty up your alley," Percy shot to another, louder laugh.

"World domination? That's all you pin me for, yes? Pity, pity. I'd had thought maybe you'd be a little more imaginative than all that foolish human elimination talk."

"That's what you want though," Leo heard himself say. "Don't you?"

"Well of course I do, any sensible god would want that, but as we have seen, there are very few _sensible_ gods nowadays."

"Oh, like you?" Annabeth said with mock flattery.

"Exactly! Oh, Jackson, I like this one. She has sense enough to almost make up for your stupidity!"

Leo waited for Percy to explode but his corner was unduly quiet. Percy was standing with his eyes closed, sword at his side, head down. If Leo didn't know better he'd have said the son of Poseidon was asleep.

But he did know better and was therefore not nearly as surprised as Triton was when the massive breaker slammed into him from behind and sent him flying across the beach and into the cliff wall.

"I know," Percy said calmly, raising his head again like nothing had happened. "But she's the only one who's allowed to remind me."

Triton spluttered up from his personal tide pool and snorted like an angry horse as he raised his conch to the ready -

The sound was horrible, as expected, and somehow not as loud as the last time. It was more, something - _rock-shattering_ Leo thought - than loud.

"Leo!"

Leo looked up just in time to see a very large chunk of the rock face tumbling down the mountain at terminal velocity, headed straight towards him.

The deja vu was killing him.

He didn't have time to move out of its way even if his legs hadn't buckled under him. Instead, he stuck his hands over his head like some kid learning to hide under his desk from nuclear bombs and sent a lucky stream of flame at the stone.

It broke apart in tiny, flaky fragments of black above his head until all that was left was a flat slab about a foot long that fell onto Leo's head, glistening in the night and burnt at the edges as it fell to the ground with a plink.

He stared at it in astonishment as did the others at him and slowly rose to his feet. He threw out a shaky grin and a more pointed glare at Triton as the merman burst into laughter.

"Just can't get rid of you, can we, son of Hephaestus?"

"Sorry for the inconvenience."

"How unfortunate for you that you are in my way, however."

"Again, sorry for the inconvenience. We probably should've phoned ahead, huh, guys?"

Suddenly, the ground began to shake again and this time, Leo was even less certain about the stability of the ground beneath them. An opening gaped at them as the loose chunks were lost to the blackness below and a massive crevice that spread like arteries around them.

"Triton!" Percy yelled above the roar of stone and waves. The minor god took no apparent notice but Percy kept talking. "I have something that belongs to you. Poseidon - Dad, wanted you to have it." He dug the forkified trident from his pocket and instantly the silver glowed and expanded until the three silver prongs glinted wickedly in all their full-sized glory in the half light.

Triton must have been paying attention after all because Leo seemed to see him grimace slightly as the weapon finished its transformation in Percy's hands.

He held it up, _an offering_ , Leo realized and for about three seconds he almost believed Triton was going to accept it.

For about three seconds and then Leo saw him whip a hand impatiently into the air. An impact like the shockwave of a thousand massive waves pushed them towards the edge of their little rock island. Leo's feet slide mercilessly on the rapidly crumbling ground and suddenly all he felt was air beneath him.

Forcing himself to hold on to the surprisingly and unhelpfully smooth lip, the chasm breached out below him like the gaping mouth of some abyssal sea monster.

" _You_ do not tell _me_ \- " he heard Triton bellow from somewhere to his left, probably at Percy. " _Father_ does not tell _me_ \- " The ground shook a little more and Leo nearly lost his grip. His foot hit a crag in the stone below and he forced his arms to push him up until he could wriggle his body back onto "solid" ground. At least the rumbling rock shards were better than falling into a chasm. Although, by the looks of it and the rapid degeneration of the ground, Leo judged it wouldn't be too long before the chasm was all there was.

He looked around desperately, still flustered over the sudden disappearance of Jason and the others yet again. He'd have to suggest giving them all cowbells once they got back.

 _Or walkie-talkies_ , he thought. _Walkie-talkies'd be cool_.

But for now, he only had his sight to help him locate his friends and that wasn't going so well.

Not that he had much time to look as his analysis from earlier was quickly becoming reality and the now little more than gravelly surface was sinking. Soon, there'd be nothing for them to stand on and they'd fall to - well to wherever god-induced undersea voids led.

He had the feeling he wouldn't like it.


	46. XLVI Jason

**JASON**

Jason was alone. Again.

This seemed to be becoming a trend.

Whatever that seaweed faced god had done, it had separated he, Piper, and Frank from the other three and something told him it wasn't exactly in accordance with their marginally constructed plan.

His impression could have been the effect of many things, but he had a feeling the giant chasm and natural smoke-screen effect from the rock was a pretty good indicator that Triton had not appeared for a family reunion with Percy.

But he had the trident, so that was good at least, right? And it was Percy, Annabeth, and Leo he was talking about, so they'd be fine. They were all tough fighters, even if a bit of a mismatched team. For now, Jason had to figure out where he was and where the others had gotten to. He didn't like the idea of being separated out here, especially when everything obviously now knew they were here and wanted to kill them.

Jason edged around to what he thought was inland, no use going back towards the ocean, and hadn't yet taken ten steps when he stumbled over something half-buried in rubble and very man-made.

Stooping down to investigate, he tentatively placed his hand on the odd piece of wood only to recognize it as a bow. That meant -

"Frank?"

"Jason?" a voice strained through the dark, too far away to see but definitely Frank.

"Here!" Jason called, yanking the bow free and hastening towards the sound.

The only problem was that the bow didn't follow him.

It was wedged too far down in the ground and no matter how hard Jason pulled it refused to budge.

"Come on, come on," he muttered impatiently, starting to become a little more wary, if that was possible, of the shadows that seemed to loom a little too intently around him.

Slowly, it started to give and Jason gave a small, internal cheer for joy.

It became very evident right away why the bow was stuck and it had nothing to do with the rock.

There was a hand attached to the other end, and not just a hand, but a fin, webs, claws, and all.

And the body it was attached to was none too happy.

 _EEAARRKKK!_ it screamed as Jason kicked away some of the stone that covered the things head. It had apparently been quite comfortable in its rock covering and didn't appreciate being woken up. Jason half-considered replacing the rock, leaving the bow, and saying "Have a nice day," but something told him that wouldn't cut it.

The dog-ish face that glowered up at him was murderous and Jason realized within about two seconds that the Telkhine would be all too willing to come out and fight if it meant an opportunity to tear him to shreds.

The monster lunged and Jason barely had time to dodge as the black claws reached for his face. Falling backwards, the bow still tight in his grip, he lost what little traction he'd had with his feet and slammed into something large and bulky that had appeared behind him. It stumbled backwards and grunted under Jason's weight but pushed him back upright and steadied them both.

"So, I guess they know we're here then," Frank said nonchalantly, eyeing the Telkhine warily and catching sight of what Jason was holding. "Hey!"

"Here," Jason said, passing off the bow and drawing his gladius.

The Telkhine hissed as it paced menacingly around them, trying to find an open spot to attack.

Instead, it threw back its head and let out a scream that Jason thought might even have rivaled Triton's conch. The monster returned his gaze with what could have been seen as a scornful smile, and took a step forward.

It stopped again.

It was waiting for reinforcements, Jason realized, and he looked around warily into the pitch black.

"Hey, Frank," he whispered.

"Yeah."

"You know that whole thing about us technically having two dragons?"

"Mhm."

"I think we might really want a second dragon in a minute."

"I think you might be right," Frank said with a anxious smile.

It was more like thirty seconds than a minute before they were in need of that second dragon.

Thankfully, they heard the hoard coming before they could see it. Unfortunately, they couldn't see until it was there.

Jason was mildly aware of Frank's creased brow and pained expression as the son of Mars willed up the image of a dragon.

 _Please remember the fire_ , Jason prayed, confident in Frank's ability but dreading the consequences should such a fundamental piece be missing.

Suddenly, the screeching got closer and the first spear tip was visible through the murk as the mass flooded over them.

Jason bat away the first monster easily enough, but there were so many he knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. As the others began to crowd in around him, more audible through the dark, charging full speed ahead towards the intruders, Jason realized he'd lost sight of Frank.

He yelled, but over the chaos there was no way anyone could hear him, let alone answer should anyone reply.

The tail came out of nowhere - at least, Jason thought it was a tail. Huge and red and sharp tipped like a spear, it was like looking at the rear-end of imminent defeat. Only then it turned on him and smacked away some oncoming Telkhines and Jason realized what was happening.

Frank had made a dragon-sized delivery, flames and all.


	47. XLVII Hazel

**HAZEL**

Now, Hazel knew she'd said they'd get a message to the others should anything go wrong. Why exactly she had said this was beyond her.

Thankfully, nothing had gone wrong. Yet. It would, eventually, she was positive. No, she was more than positive. It was _guaranteed_. But it was also in the future, and for now all she was focusing on was Festus nudging her with the tip of his nose and clicking madly like an anxious bronze-retriever.

"What? Festus - ugh," she grumbled as she tried to calm the great metal beast down. It wasn't as easy as it looked and she wondered how in Jupiter's name Leo did it.

The living automaton refused to leave her be and if anything started clicking with more urgency. Hazel came close to asking Calypso to put him to sleep when she saw the shot of flame in the distance.

She thought she was seeing things, but then they heard the roar of some beast and another funnel of fire erupted into the night sky. It cut through the dark as to be almost blinding, and Hazel's first thought was that Leo was fighting something, which meant all the others had hit trouble as well.

"We need to go help," she said instinctively, more to herself and not totally aware she'd spoken.

"But we can't just leave the pegasi here," Nico objected, however not very wholeheartedly. He was worried too, Hazel could tell. Festus clicked by her ear again. The pegasi pawed anxiously at the ground. Calypso was silent.

Blackjack moved first and the other horses huddled in behind him, heads bowed and eyes wide. The black pegasus bobbed his chin and gave a small whinny in Hazel's direction.

"I believe they would follow the one in black," a so far silent Eugene piped up from the dark. Hazel had nearly forgotten about the hippogriff and suddenly felt very guilty. "They would like to go on and assist the attack."

Sure enough, all the pegasi were now standing a little taller, eyes still wild but trying their hardest to at least look heroic. The beastly wail came again, another bout of flame, but the animals held their ground. They did want to help, Hazel recognized that. And besides, they were all in danger anyways, what was the harm?

"Alright," she said with a breath. "Do we have a consensus?"

No one objected (although Eugene looked a bit like he wanted to say something) and Calypso even gave her a nod.

"I do have one concern, however," the goddess said. "We have a dragon. A giant, metal dragon."

"Good for battle, tricky with travel," Eugene added.

"What do you suggest?" Hazel said. She hadn't thought of Festus at all, and the dragon would surely attract some unpleasant attention if they weren't careful.

"I think I can fix that," Calypso said casually and closed her eyes. Suddenly, Festus let out a surprised _click_ and his metal began to glow a soft orange.

And then he began to shrink.

The great dragon's bronze flanks were rapidly folding in on themselves, his plating retracting until he was no larger than a house-cat. A house-cat with wings, of course, but a house-cat all the same.

"There." Festus spread his wings and inspected them uncertainly, trying to figure out where all his metal had gone. Finally, he seemed satisfied enough and flew up to land on the back of Calypso's pegasus like an overgrown parrot.

"How did you…" Nico stammered.

"I've had a little time to myself to learn some magic," Calypso said quietly, throwing a small smile to the black haired boy when he started to apologize for asking.

They flew low as not to attract any unwanted attention towards the sounds of battle. Hopefully, it wouldn't be some kind of trap.

The hippogriff had decided he was to be Hazel's personal transport and therefore continued to insist that she ride with him. He was unusually quiet, but flew purposefully as not to appear nervous. She started to realize he wasn't really paying attention to where they were going, just flying straight and ignoring the rocks. Therefore, everyone else saw the dragon first and Eugene would have flown right into it had Hazel not stopped him.

It was huge and was bashing through what appeared to be Telkhines like they were dominos.

 _So it's not with them, I take it_ , Hazel thought. But was it with or against the demigods was another question.

She spotted a large cluster of boulders a relatively comfortable distance away from the action and motioned for the others to set down there.

It was quite obvious that the fire they had seen had not been their friends', and the battle they had imagined had not been theirs. They'd exposed themselves for no reason.

But then Hazel heard a familiar voice.

Jason Grace was running towards the dragon, gladius raised, ten Telkhines trailing behind him screaming angrily.


	48. XLVIII Percy

**PERCY**

Percy didn't know where the others had gone but he didn't really have time to worry about it as Triton was at present trying to use him as a punching bag.

He'd heard that's what siblings do, but something about the way Triton was attacking felt far from brotherly. The now fully fledged trident had skittered away somewhere into the blackness and Riptide had been thrown from his hands when he fell. It had yet to reappear in his pocket and it was all he could do to dodge the merman's punches.

The ground shifted again and he lost his footing, catching a blow to the rib that sent him hurtling into the ground like a cannon blast. He gasped and coughed through the stale air as he tried to stagger up again before Triton came back for more. For someone who was used to swimming around with a tail, he was a surprisingly good kicker.

"I am going to show you what happens to those on the wrong side of wars, Jackson. First I'm going to show you, and then I'm going to show Poseidon what it means to be a real god of the sea." Triton's voice echoed unhappily across the chalky expanse, painful to Percy's battered head and filled with menacing conviction.

Percy had no doubt the immortal meant what he said.

"It seems to me," he said through gritted teeth, "that there can't really be a wrong side to a war if everyone thinks they're on the right side."

"Well then I should be happy to enlighten you."

"I'd like to see you try." Percy felt the pressure of metal inside his pocket and automatically drew the pen in front of him. Now they were on more level ground.

If only the ground knew that.

The gravel lurched and swayed beneath him and he caught sight of Leo stumbling up from the wall of the breach that had opened up a few hundred yards away. The younger boy whipped his head back and forth, looking for something, looking for the others, then Percy lost his footing and Leo disappeared from sight.

Triton advanced on him, unfazed by the quaking, a smug expression across his green face as he glared down at his mortal half-brother.

"I know why you're doing this," Percy said as he dodged Triton's fist. "You're angry that Dad doesn't give you things to do. That he doesn't trust you with anything."

"You know nothing," Triton spat with an unconvincing laugh.

"You want him to recognize your power so you're trying to outdo him. What do you think's going to happen? Oceanus'll just give you the ocean and you'll be top-god? I've got the feeling that's not going to go well."

Triton let out a growl and ran at Percy. Water had welled up in the cut in the ground and the black maelstrom glistened in the dark moonlight. It continued to rise as Triton approached until it was lapping at Percy's feet.

Faster than Percy could blink, the god was on top of him and they plunged together into the water before he could even think about swinging Riptide.

Triton dragged him down several feet before releasing him. Percy saw the green double tail reform around him, the godly glow pulsate brilliantly through the pitch, and then it was like he vanished.

The light danced through Percy's eyes, blinding him for the moment as he struggled to force them back into focus.

Something bumped his leg.

He had still managed to hold onto his sword, but he wasn't sure there was much else he could do if he couldn't even see it.

He was pushed from behind but whatever it was had swum away again before he could swing around to face it. He was starting to get angry. He knew it was Triton, he knew he was being messed with, and he didn't like it.

The spots finally began to dissipate from his vision and he glanced cautiously around him.

He was being stalked.

He risked propelling himself forwards, letting his hands investigate the chasm wall. The freshly cut stone was smooth and cold through the water. A shadow just slightly blacker than the rest of the darkness moved to his left, a great heaving creature whose teeth were the only things to reflect light through the void.

Percy raised Riptide and prepared for the charge, but the shark just hung back lazily as if he were waiting for his dinner to strike first. Which he probably was.

It growled, which Percy wasn't quite aware sharks could do, and made a sound that seemed to chill the very water around him.

 _You're nothing, Jackson_ , the growl said with Triton's trademark angry overconfidence. _I am going to destroy you so that even Father won't want to save you._

"Didn't see that coming," Percy muttered, bracing himself and watching shark-Triton closely. He growled again and bowed his head to charge. Percy sailed out of the way none too soon as Immortal Jaws barreled past, a massive fin clipping his ankle in the process.

He was pushed backwards and into the other wall by the pressure coming off the beast-god, and he realized it was unlikely he would ever be able to dodge every blow Triton could throw (swim?) at him in such a tight space. There was barely room enough for his shark form to swim comfortably, not leaving much room for Percy.

His only option was to get out of the water.

The shark charged again, closer this time and Percy managed to swing Riptide in time, landing a blow to the grey-green flank. Triton yelled but recovered quickly and turned angrily on Percy across the chasm.

He had a little time to scope out how he was going to get out before Triton could get to him, when he caught the glimmer of silver wedged into the rock across from him.

The triple prongs of the royal trident winked at him and disappeared behind the dark mass of shark that passed between them, unaware of the weapon's presence.

An idea came over Percy, but in order for it to have any chance at all he'd have to time it perfectly.

Triton turned on him again and moved to charge. The look on his beady eyed face said he meant to make it the last time. Once he was done, there'd be nothing left of the demigod son of Poseidon except for a shredded orange teeshirt and a broken pen.

The white teeth seemed to grin as they advanced, faster than last time, no chance of Percy slipping away between the giant grey body and the rock.

At the last second, Percy planted his feet on the wall and shot off, sailing past Triton and slamming into the other side. Grabbing for the trident, he heard the crash of shark into stone and wondered briefly how well the already crumbling surface would hold up against the Megalodon body slam. His guess was not very well as he could already see and hear the damage on the pillar as more cracks appeared and a cloud of dust erupted from the spot Triton hit.

The shark wobbled back around to face Percy, dazed by his impact and obviously very confused. His plan had been shattered and he wasn't sure he wanted another go.

He focused his eyes and staggered as much as a shark can possibly stagger in the water as he made out the silhouette of Percy and the trident.

The glow pulsated around him again and Percy prepared for another transformation, but instead, the green double tail reappeared and the merman was back to his normal self. Percy wasn't exactly sure if this was good or not - he'd seen what Triton could do without the disguise of a shark. What he was less sure of was why the other son of Poseidon wasn't doing anything now. Had Percy not known any better, he'd have said the merman looked like he was giving up.

Triton looked up and made eye contact with Percy, his expression unreadable and his fists clenched at his sides as the sea began to shake.

The earth was crumbling and Percy was stuck in the middle.


	49. XLIX Leo

**LEO**

When he said the ground crumbled underneath him, he meant that it shattered. It flat out disappeared. And he free-fell down with it.

He heard Annabeth yell somewhere in the darkness.

"Annabeth!"

"Leo!" echoed back.

"Percy!" was screamed in unison. No answer.

 _Seriously, though_. How did they keep losing each other? _Walkie-talkies are definitely going to be a thing._

His hands scraped along raw stone, study stone, and he instantly became aware of the feeling of _enclosure_. He could feel the cold pressing in around him even though he couldn't see it, and knew they'd entered yet another danger-zone - if you ignored the falling to their deaths part.

Ground.

The wind knocked back out of him and he lay dazed on his stomach, feeling a little like he was underwater. Annabeth groaned beside him and he saw her dark shape push herself up onto her feet.

"You okay?"

"Mhm," he grumbled.

There was a skittering sound from behind them loud enough to shock them out of their stupor and they both spun around, Annabeth struggling with her sword and Leo struggling with an apparently malfunctioning tool belt.

There was a slash and a grunt and the sound of metal being dropped again and none but Percy came staggering into view.

Annabeth relaxed and walked a little bit faster towards her found (part 85) boyfriend who just smiled casually as they approached.

"Hey."

"Hey. Where's Triton?" Annabeth's voice got cold when she mentioned the immortal's name and Leo noticed something silver in Percy's hand that he hadn't before. His grip readjusted around its hilt like he wasn't quite used to the idea of holding it.

"Dunno," came the answer, clearly not what they wanted to hear, and Leo nodded to the trident.

"And you've still got that," he said.

Percy nodded cautiously, like if he acknowledged the weapon it would jump down and run away. "It fell when Triton attacked me and when I got it back, he just kind of, left. Made us fall then disappeared."

"Cool. So, he's leaving us alone?" Leo said hopefully.

"Or this is a trap." Annabeth really knew how to bast optimism.

"Right. Probably that. That sounds more like the usual. I'd really hate to break tradition."

 _Quite right, quite right, son of Hephaestus_ , the cavern said. _Tradition is so important after all. Tradition is what got you three here, isn't it?_

The three tensed, the voice penetrating and deep, smooth and cold.

 _Oh, don't worry_ , it continued. _You don't have any chance of stopping me. But you know that, surely._

"You're wrong," Percy shot, suddenly looking very angry. " _You_ don't have any chance of winning."

The voice of Koios laughed. "Is that so, Mr. Jackson? Are you going to stop me?" A figure appeared at the back of the cavern, wrapped in shadow, and began to approach them. "How lovely," he growled.


	50. L Jason

**JASON**

Frank torched his pursuers in a burst of orange flame and sent the Telkhines rolling away screaming into the water.

Jason reached the dragon-ified son of Mars and swung at the still very horde-like mass of monsters. And more were coming. At this rate, one dragon wasn't going to cut it.

It was good then, that at that moment a second, bronze plated dragon came charging onto the scene. The only problem Jason could see was the fact that Festus was currently the size of an overgrown, very shiny, fire breathing parakeet.

The shrunken dragon landed on Jason's shoulder and roared defiantly at the advancing Telkhines. It was like a chihuahua taking on a pack of doberman pinschers and Jason was not in the slightest bit reassured. He knew he should be very confused, but at this point, there were more pressing matters, like how they were going to get out of this alive, for instance, for him to worry about a mini-Festus.

He heard more frantically yelling Telkhines and his first optimistic thought was that at least they were announcing themselves before they killed him.

His second thought was that he never wanted to be on the receiving end of an angry hippogriff.

Eugene was tearing through monsters like they were tissue and sending the others caught in his path scattering in panic. Hazel was on his back, slashing expertly with her spatha, effectively making them the most frightening pair Jason had ever seen.

The pegasi charged in behind them, Nico and Calypso in tow. The son of Hades' black sword was enough to make the monsters turn tail rather than fight, and the goddess' sweet voice made any in her way drop where they stood.

 _Alright_ , Jason thought. _Maybe this won't end badly at all_. It was starting to look a lot more even of a fight.

And then there was the wave.

It came out of nowhere, a massive tidal wave that crested over them higher than Frank's head and came crashing down on top of everything, including the Telkhines.

Something crashed louder than the surf on the dark and indistinguishable shore, rocking the whole group and sending them off in all directions.

A fin toppled a stack of boulders like they were pebbles in front of Jason as it swatted up out of the water, the ugly grey, scaly flesh sinking back down into the murk.

Jason almost actually asked _What was that_ when he realized how stupid that sounded. Did it really matter? It was big, it was angry, and it wanted to kill them.

He could only thank the gods it seemed to be staying in the water.

Festus roared in miniature again and bucked in frustration having realized he couldn't really do much in his current state.

"Grace! Get the dragon off you," Calypso called from the fray as she landed an elbow in an attacking Telkhine who fell over and stayed down. It took Jason a moment to process what she'd said but Festus had already risen from his shoulder and was flying towards her instead. He saw her shut her eyes, the pegasus dodging a few stumbling monsters so she could concentrate, and Festus began to glow.

He began to get bigger, slowly at first but more and more noticeably as his plating came back in and extended around his body. Within seconds, a full grown gleaming Festus was standing proudly in front of Jason, making Frank seem suddenly very small in comparison.

The Telkhines whimpered and dodged clumsily around the dragon's feet only to run headlong into each other and the arrow tipped tail.

They were all suddenly very preoccupied by the giant metal beast that had shot up in the middle of them all, freeing up Jason and the others for the moment at least. They were no longer the most important immediate threat.

Jason watched as several Telkhines seemed to take charge and snapped at those who had turned tail, corralling them like murderous ushers back in a circle around Festus.

Another burst of flame shot through the crowd sending a hot billow of smoke pouring up. It spluttered red and died, coughing off in a tiny yellow spark and taking Festus very much by surprise.

Jason didn't realize they had a problem until he realized Festus was now only using his tail and body to bat away at the oncoming monsters, quickly being overcome as they caught hold of his plating and began to scale his sides.

"Cal!" he yelled at the goddess who responded with a very surprised and very disgusted expression as he ran, gladius raised, at Festus. "Hazel, Nico!"

They didn't need to be told. The others had already advanced on the hoard, Frank jumping up and down in a spastic frenzy of wings and feet, doing his best to knock the Telkhines down and scatter them again.

Each time it took them less time to regroup. They were learning quick and realizing that they were the stronger force.

Even with Frank's occasional burst of fire, they still continued to advance, and suddenly, Festus stopped thrashing.

He wobbled a bit, body stiff under the weight of the Telkhines, as one lone dog-faced body tore through the plate at the back of the dragon's head, sending sparks into the night, and the dragon into the sea.


	51. LI Hazel

**HAZEL**

Eugene was not the most well balanced of hippogriffs. Not that she had known too many, but she'd always imagined them to be pretty level-headed creatures - and, well, literally level too.

Long story short, Eugene tripped. Hazel was not sure over what, but all that really mattered was that ultimately, he went down and Hazel went with him.

There happened to be a rather large rock beneath them which made friends with her head and placed her in a crater which was hidden from the outside by an outcrop above it. (Had she had the chance to examine it, she would have seen that it was really quite complex) All she cared about however when she came to was the severe lack of company, hippogriff, and land.

What there was was water.

 _It was all of us, and we were in the middle of the ocean._

This all seemed very familiar.

She sat up carefully and collected her spatha which thankfully had fallen in beside her. Making her way to the edge of her little hideaway, her hands dipped into cold and she forced herself to not jump back.

A little water didn't mean it was the entire ocean.

It was still dark, though something told her it should have been daylight hours ago. It was pouring rain, wild thunder cracks shaking the sky. The others were nowhere in sight, at least from her present position, and she fought the urge to yell out for them.

Finally bringing herself up straight against the whipping wind, her vision became a little better and she was able to make out some of what she was faced with.

It was the entire ocean, or at the very least, a good chunk of it.

She was alone on her little outcrop, but off to her right, she could just make out another, and beyond that, she knew there had to be more.

The algae under her sneakers was slick from rain and salt water and they fought to gain purchase on any rough patch of rock they could.

Something flew over her head, whizzing by like an arrow - no, not like, it _was_ an arrow. Standing on the next island over was Frank, just visible through the smoke and apparently saying something.

"Sorry!" she could just make out over the wind, but then he was pointing behind her and she turned around to a massive fin coming up out of the waves. It did not advance, rather hovered in one spot in the tumult for a few seconds before sinking back down and disappearing into the froth.

A shriek came from above and a battered Eugene swooped low across the water, clawing at the surface. He looked in Hazel's direction and turned like he was coming to get her, but he swerved at the last second and glanced back apologetically as the storm overtook him.

She would just have to hold her own for now.

Something shimmered in her peripheral and a harsh ripple echoed off her shore separate from the already broiling sea.

Hazel crouched down cautiously, sword at the ready and, peering into the whitewashed surface, was met by the image of a blue, female face.

It smiled up at her and a hand to match shot out of the surf, just missing her wrist as she pulled away, breathing hard. The nereid scowled and sank back down again, deciding that either Hazel wasn't worth the trouble or that she could get her later.

 _Why isn't anything happening?_

It felt almost as if they were waiting for something and she hadn't been told what. Nothing was attacking them, at least not seriously, and for whatever reason they had been separated and not much else.

The water was still if she discounted the fact it was being whipped up by the storm. The others, from what she could see, seemed to have come to this conclusion as well, that something was not quite right. Well, not that it was ever _right_ , but at the moment, it seemed especially _wrong_.

Jason was trying to calm the storm, at least in his little pocket of air, and her attention was drawn to a sudden _boom_ that cascaded around them from far off in the distance but much too close.

A strange, black haze lingered on the horizon and suddenly shot up into the atmosphere where it dissipated again, adding to the already dark dark.

Watching distractedly where her brain knew the cloud line to be, Hazel became aware of a single spot on the night-scape that was brighter than the rest. It glowed a coppery brown and blurred into the clouds like a stain on old fabric. Somehow, she knew it would have been blood red on a clear night.

A single beam swathed the ocean in red and somehow, the water seemed to calm.

She knew what was coming next, she just didn't know what to do about it.

The ocean began to rise up in the distance and the same unearthly booming pulsed again through the night as the tidal wave grew from the sinking land.

She looked over to Frank again, and on a whim, dove headlong into the water.

It was colder than she'd ever felt before and she started to panic immediately. Forcing her head above the surface and taking long, harsh breaths, she flung her arms around her in a frantic freestyle towards Frank's little island. She had made eye contact with him before she'd jumped and knew he'd seen her. He probably thought she'd lost it. She thought she'd lost it.

The only good part about the cold was it prevented her from thinking about what was in the water beneath her. She focused on paddling and getting out as quickly as possible. If she could only get to Frank…

Her vision began to blur too quickly. She could hardly breath and her legs refused to move the right way. Nothing was working and she was only half-way there.

She could see him, he was saying something but her head was filled with cotton and the wind was too strong for her to hear. The waves kept brushing up over her head and made it impossible to get air.

She felt her eyes go soft and everything got fuzzy - she suddenly felt very warm and wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep. She was vaguely aware that she shouldn't do that, but couldn't think straight enough to convince herself why. Then, something crashed through the water next to her and wrapped itself around her waist and for a moment her eyes went black.

Frank pulled her shaking body up onto the rocks and shook her shoulders until she opened her eyes and coughed up the cold and the water.

He was soaking wet and breathing hard and hugged her close once she'd stopped.

"Don't," he whispered between ragged breaths.

She smiled and hugged him back before she remembered the wave. "Frank," she stuttered. "Frank we have to get out of here."

He nodded but didn't let go of her. He didn't understand.

She pushed away a bit and forced him to look at her. "No, we need to get out of here now."


	52. LII Percy

**PERCY**

Koios was even uglier in person. His face was strange, twisted and cruel, the face of someone who had caused much suffering and enjoyed watching.

"How lovely indeed," he purred. "The great Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, Hero of Olympus, here with me now. Well I can scarcely believe it. If only I hadn't seen you coming." He laughed, cool and sharp. "Excuse me for one moment," and he absorbed back into the dark.

The demigods stood there for a moment totally perplexed.

"What the heck was that?" Percy said angrily. He tried to keep his voice steady but couldn't manage to stop shaking. He was mad - no, he was furious, but he wasn't totally sure why.

Something crashed in the invisible space in front of them and the scraping of metal clanged throughout the cavern. The sound was horrible and finally, just when Percy thought his eardrums would burst, it stopped.

Something yellow glinted in the half-light and Leo gasped, taking a step forward.

Festus had been dragged across the ground by some thirty dog-faced Telkhines and now lay cold and still in a pool at the base of the cave.

Percy saw Annabeth put a hand on Leo's shoulder to stop him from advancing and wondered if the son of Hephaestus would be able to fix his buddy this time. Something about the bronze dragon's lifelessness seemed incredibly hopeless. For Leo's sake, he hoped it wasn't and, knowing him, the mechanic would make it work. Though, they'd also have to make it out of this first themselves before they could worry about Festus.

The ground shook and rocked the walls of the titanic underground.

 _"_ _Cease your foolish game, children of the gods_ ," the tremors said. " _You will find no fortune in it, only destruction. Join us, it is your only salvation. Join us, or die_."

It was not Koios this time. There was something older, more ancient about this voice and the silence that echoed after it was like white-noise after an explosion.

This was Oceanus.

And he was Percy Jackson and he didn't care how old or powerful the titan was.

"Yeah, cause that's likely," he said, his voice laden with sarcasm. "You won't be getting any more recruits today. Least of all out of us."

" _Son of Poseidon_ ," the voice cooed. " _You most of all should be leading the charge! Join us. You shall surpass even the victories of your father. Together, we shall accomplish more than he ever was able. His power is limited, young demigod. But yours is great. Allow us to help you, but first you must help us_."

Who did they think he was, Triton? "Again. No thanks. I'm pretty okay with being sub-Poseidon level. Normal demigod is working just fine for me."

" _Do you not wish to surpass his ability with your own? Do not deny your desires to prove him wrong, Perseus Jackson. You resent the sea god's view of you, of your friends. He holds high standards for you yet does not believe you capable of fulfilling them; he calls you his favorite but you know this is an invalid claim. So much has happened and yet he still does not ask you about it - so much you want to tell him but are not given the chance_."

That was it. He didn't know why - or maybe he did, it didn't matter - but he couldn't take it anymore. "Shut up!" he yelled at the darkness. "You don't know anything about me!"

" _But you do not deny what I say_ ," the voice echoed.

Percy felt Annabeth take his hand again and knew he was making her nervous. He was mad that he was being baited like this, mad that he was scaring Annabeth, and mad that he couldn't seem to stop. He took a few deep breaths and felt his subconscious dragging pools of water around his feel.

"Percy," she whispered. "This is what he wants. He's trying to make you angry."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Percy spat. "If you're so high and mighty why don't you come out here yourself and face us then?" He pulled Riptide, the hilt trapped viselike in his grip. He could feel Annabeth watching him, sensed Leo somewhere in the corner, but all he could concentrate on were the ripples that had begun to congregate on the water's surface a few hundred feet away.

" _As you wish_ ," the voice said softly.

The water was rising but, for once, it wasn't because of Percy. No, this was no demigod's power. It was a vacuum of old domination and filled him with an immense sense of inadequacy.

 _You will not win_ , it hissed. _You will fail. It is foretold. You're friends will die_. _You are a fool._

Percy was vaguely aware of Leo making some high pitched squeal before he and Annabeth stumbled a little ways away from him. He thought he heard one or both of them say something, but didn't know what. Were they talking to him? The voice in his head was too loud and he couldn't pay attention.

His eye had followed the rising water-line to the center of the cave, a dark figure curling up out of the mist and hovering in the water where the last waves came to rest.

He was easily eight feet tall, not counting the swirled horns protruding from his head. The eyes were painted black and seemed to follow him like the figures in old portraits.

Percy felt the water leaving him again, even seeming to dry up where he stood. Oceanus transformed as the water left his body into human form. Percy's one consolation was that at least the titan had bad beach hair.

" _Oceanus_ ," Annabeth whispered from behind him. Percy wanted to say something like _it'll be fine, don't even worry about it_ , but he found he couldn't even bring himself to look at her.

His eyes had locked onto Oceanus' massive arm. One was bigger than the other. And it appeared to be moving.

A snake.

"Well, son of Poseidon? How do I compare to your trifling father?"

He knew it was stupid for his feet to move forwards. He knew it was the biggest idiot move ever to threaten a titan with an arm-snake with a sword. That being said, he was not completely aware that he was moving, so when Annabeth grabbed his arm and yanked him back so hard he stumbled, he remembered the score and what was actually going on.

"Percy, you can't. Think this through. We have to be smart about this. He's trying to get you to attack him. This is what he wants. Don't listen to him."

She was upset and was talking loudly as if he were some little kid. He lowered his sword, but refused to break eye contact with Oceanus. He felt her relax just a little.

He knew she was going to kill him but, "Where's Koios, then?" he said.

"Right here, demigod."

Old white eyes came out of the shadows again and strolled towards them somberly, a much too happy smirk on his face. His armor glinted wickedly and the gem in the breastplate was luminous.

"Terribly sorry to have kept you waiting." His sword swung at his side as he walked. He raised his hands in a sign of surrender. "Don't you want to try and kill me?"

 _That's it_.

Annabeth wasn't quick enough to stop him this time and he felt her hand catch at the back of his shirt as he charged. There were many problems with his attack, but the biggest one he really should have seen coming.

Percy was sent flying no sooner than he'd reached the hulking mass of grey and black.

" _Percy_!"

His head ached and he sprang uneasily up to his feet, the rock frozen and uneven beneath him.

It was all he could do not to fall again, and he lunged at Riptide not three feet to his right.

Koios approached him carelessly and got to the sword first, sending it careening into the murk.

"Brother," Koios said reverently, gesturing to Percy like some giant mutated Vanna White. An eight-foot shadow descended over Percy and he could feel the swell in the ocean as it rose up again to fill the gap, turning the rock into two islands separating him from Annabeth and Leo.

He found he couldn't move. He was frozen in place, and Oceanus had placed one massive hand on the back of his head to hold him down.

He saw the reflection of fire sail over him before it transformed into a puff of smoke and was extinguished.

Percy felt the titan's arm lean towards him and heard the snake hiss beside his ear and all he could do was wait -

For something to hit him on the cheek and the snake in the face.


	53. LIII Leo

**LEO**

Leo was not at all surprised that his measly little fireball was about as helpful as a tennis ball would have been in distracting the titan. Therefore, he was slightly annoyed when the hurtling seashell projectile seemed to do the trick. He was even more annoyed when he saw who had thrown it.

Triton was standing smugly at the waterline, arms crossed at his chest and the glinting, silver trident hooked under his elbow.

"Drop something, Jackson?"

The snake attached to Oceanus' arm was still recovering from the shock of the conch shell's sharp tip, a deep red welt torn into its cheek. Leo thought it looked like it was bleeding, but it was hard to tell while it was thrashing its head back and forth like a bee-stung dog.

Oceanus meanwhile was stony faced and immobile. His grip on Percy didn't seem to have lessened any, but his indifferent gaze was now locked onto Triton and the trident planted at his feet.

"You know, I would, under different circumstances, be the first to say that Perseus Jackson is worth more to me dead than alive, but as it is he and I have some unfinished business. I would greatly appreciate if the Lord of the Waters would grant me the opportunity to finish the mortal myself." He spoke calmly, formally, respectfully, and Leo couldn't quite tell if he was joking or not.

He thought it was more likely the _Lord of the Waters_ would blast Triton off his little rock than let Percy go, but somehow, the green faced god's words seemed to work and slowly, Oceanus removed his hand from Percy.

Uncertain, the demigod got his feet back under him and took a hesitant step away from the still raging serpent.

Leo felt Annabeth relax - well, get less tense, beside him and she let out a tiny half breath of relief.

They still had to see what Triton was playing at.

He still defiantly wielded the trident directed out at the other immortal and nodded expressionlessly as Percy took his leave of the angrily spitting snake.

Percy stopped halfway between the two mermen and seemed to be trying to watch both at the same time. Leo thought he looked like he was trying to decide which was the lesser evil.

He put is hand in his pocket and removed it again just as quickly, his expression tightening and his jaw set. It would seem Riptide had yet to reappear. Leo half considered sending another fireball over the rift, but he realized that now it would be doubly pointless.

"What is the meaning of this?" Koios hissed from his corner. Leo had nearly forgotten about him and the titan's brittle white hair reminded him that they had three rather powerful problems to deal with now. "Have you forgotten your place, young god or do you simply seek to disrupt your betters?" His voice was dangerous and low, his mouth curled up to reveal a row of pointed teeth. It was obvious that his temper wouldn't hold for much longer.

"Oh, of course I would never wish to undermine the efforts of your greatness. I merely thought you of all would understand my desire to finish what I started with this mortal." Triton spoke with an uncharacteristic sweetness, even daring a smile at the snarling Koios. "If I was wrong than of course - "

But Koios warily returned the smile and raised a hand to Oceanus who was still staring pointedly at Triton. "Of course, son of the sea, of course. Retribution for one's offenses is by all means necessary. It matters not how the Jackson boy is dealt with. Do with him as you wish."

"Thank you, Lord Koios. Your generosity is truly great."

Koios grudgingly bowed his head in false deference and slipped back into the shadows, his bitter glow the only reminder of his carefully watching eye.

Triton locked his gaze on Percy and pointed the trident, his expression merciless and unamused. Leo waited for the blast, waited with bated breath for the god to destroy his friend who he was unsure would be able to do much about it. He waited, and Annabeth beside him, while they helplessly watched Percy's set jaw and firm expression.

And Triton swung the weapon to his side, lowered it as if to hurl it over his head like a spear - which, Leo supposed, it was - and projected a torrent of silver water where Percy had been standing.

Simultaneously, Koios let loose a roar that allowed Leo to understand what it felt like to stand next to an erupting volcano. He swept his hand aside to redirect the blow, but wasn't quite quick enough. The wave hit the titan square in the chest, knocking him back a few feet sputtering angrily through a mouthful of water.

" _God_!" he cried (a choice of words which Leo found rather amusing given their current situation), raising a hand and advancing more quickly than before on Triton.

Leo couldn't see what had gone wrong. Percy had dodged Triton's attack, but it all seemed too easy. Triton's aim was flawless, or so he'd thought - but he looked to have just missed an admittedly easy target. Percy also was now standing _beside_ Triton, the one who had just tried to kill him…

 _Or that's what he wants us to think_ , Leo thought.

Percy sidestepped another rather weak and still disoriented shot from Koios and in the space of a second had both a smile on his face and a sword in his hand.

The game now seemed to be somewhat matched if not even, and Koios was beginning to realize this. Oceanus looked about as uninterested as though the fight breaking out in front of him was between a group of annoying five year olds he had somehow found himself in charge of. He clearly wanted nothing to do with the situation, but Koios hissed something at him and his eyes swept over Leo and Annabeth still positioned across the break in stone from the action.

For a moment, Leo realized he had been so sucked into the strangeness of the whole thing he'd forgotten he and Annabeth were actually a part of it. It felt a little like watching an MMA fight go terribly wrong on television, only they _were_ indeed in the middle of it even if they didn't think so. He also realized what was about to happen if they didn't do something.

Annabeth had gone blank, in awe of what was unfolding before them, and Leo tapped her casually (terrified) on the shoulder. "We should go."

She snapped back instantly and caught sight of Oceanus, now taking several agonizingly slow steps in their general direction.

"Yeah, we should go _now_."

She nodded and drew her sword. "Leo, get to Festus." She wasn't looking at him, but he had the feeling she didn't need to in order to see the confusion on his face. "See what you can do. Get him up. He's our escape route right now."

Had she gone crazy? Was Koios somehow manipulating her mind? She obviously had lost perspective of their situation. Besides that and no matter how little he wanted to think it, Festus looked horrible. Like, beyond just a little out of it. He looked - no he wasn't going to. Not yet. If his dragon was their way out, then Leo would just have to make that happen. Festus had never given up for him. Now was certainly not the time for Leo to do so.

He gave a sideways glance at Annabeth, saw the scary determination only the daughter of Athena could possess, and made a beeline for Festus.

Apparently, Oceanus didn't have any faith in Leo's ability to revive the cold bronze either as he didn't make any move to stop him from splashing into the frigid saltwater alongside the dragon.

 _I'm not sure if I should be grateful or insulted_ , Leo thought, reaching around and hoisting himself up between the freezing shoulder-plates. _It's just like before,_ "It's just like before," and he pressed his hands tight against the sides of the dragons' thick neck. He'd have to warm more this time, he knew. Festus was just too cold for a simple head massage. That also meant it would take more time, and that was one thing they were sorely lacking.

The sharp clang of metal and a harsh screech echoed across the chamber, and for one horrible moment, he thought he had done it. Then, he realized with dread, it had come from behind him and he turned to find that Oceanus had reached Annabeth and was lashing out, albeit slowly, with his fist.

She deflected each blow with the flat of her sword, pushed back into the rocks and towards the water's edge with each titanic impact.

Oceanus wasn't trying to kill her though, or at least he wasn't making a very big effort. _He's not trying to kill her_ directly _,_ Leo thought. _He's going to push her over the edge_.

Annabeth staggered under his pressure and regained her stance quickly, catching Leo's eye and nodding in reassurance. Leo forced his attention back onto Festus. There was no time to worry about Oceanus - Annabeth could handle herself. At least, she'd have to.

He set his hands back to the horribly cold plating beneath him, feeling a new determination he imagined could only be of the Athenian variety. He'd get this dragon up again if it killed him, which he sincerely hoped it wouldn't. Not dying for a second time right off the bat would be a major plus.

"Okay, buddy. Let's get to work."


	54. LIV Jason

**JASON**

Somewhere along the line, the ground decided to give up on them. Apparently, it didn't think they were worth it and seemed to sink away like an angry babysitter.

Part of Jason considered apologizing to Gaea for all the trouble they'd caused her, but he didn't think that was worth it either. In fact, she'd probably just make them sink faster.

Festus had toppled Jupiter knew how long ago and Jason hadn't been able to do anything about it. The only good part - and it wasn't a very large part - was that some of the telkhines went with him. Not as in they just fell in and didn't come out again, but for whatever reason they followed his heavy body into the water on purpose. But the great dragon did not resurface and even the glint of his bronze was lost beneath the waves.

He cringed to think how they would tell Leo.

He also cringed at the cold seeping through his shoes.

Hazel had disappeared into the frenzy with Eugene and Frank was stumbling around the rubble with his bow around his shoulder. His draconian form had been figured out by the telkhines and he'd since given up on chasing them around the boulders with all his bulk. Now, he was running out of arrows and was clearly trying to save those he did have left.

Nico was kneeling down a little ways away from Jason, apparently deep in concentration until he shot back up from his crouch with a scowl.

"There's nothing here!" he shouted, angrily stamping his foot. "There's only _water_!"

The son of Hades was dangerously close to the edge of the rapidly diminishing shore and Jason was more than a little certain he didn't know it. Jason hopped over the sinking sand and hooked a hand on Nico's jacket, yanking him back.

"What's - "

"I can't _do anything_!" Nico spat, tugging his arm free from Jason's grasp. "There's no ground for anything to rise from, so I can't summon anything."

Jason hadn't even thought about Nico's ability - not until now and it would certainly be an improvement to their situation. Somehow though he didn't see the problem Nico was.

"Do they need ground?" he said hesitantly, not wanting to upset the already fuming boy.

"What do you mean, 'do they need ground'? Of course they'd need ground, they have to _rise_ \- that's what _rise_ means. As in, out of the _ground_."

"Or out of the sea."

Nico looked at him like he'd snapped. "What?"

"Or out of the sea. I'd think rising from the water would be just the same - they'd just have to, I don't know, swim instead of crawl. There have to be loads of people who've died, well, wherever we are. It is the ocean, after all."

"Huh." Nico looked like he'd been slapped. "Hadn't thought of that."

"Well, think about it now," Jason said as he turned away and realized more monsters had come crawling up out of the rocks looking not unlike an army of the undead themselves.

He'd have rather they had one such army of their own however to counter with, not simply five teenagers and assorted mythological creatures. He'd just have to leave Nico on that one. For now, Jason had regrouping telkhines to deal with.

He spun to face them, Imperial gold burning in front of him as he prepared for battle.

But the monsters had stopped.

They were staring blank, cold expressions, but not at the demigods. Their glassy black eyes flitted unfocused out to an invisible sea, listening intently to the slow rumble that flowed from somewhere deep beneath them.

The water was vibrating, kicking up the already choppy waves and just barely shaking the earth. Just enough to be noticeable. Just enough to be a problem.

Frank yelled somewhere in the distance. His voice seemed far away, incoherent. Jason didn't like it. That shouldn't be right. The island wasn't big. They couldn't be very far away, could they? But before he could think the telkhines were scattering. Some ran towards him and he raised the gladius to defend himself, only to be pushed aside and out of the fleeing monsters' ways. They dove headlong into the sea, their grey flippers trailing behind them in a puff of sea-spray and a timid splash. Within seconds, Jason and Nico were alone and it was as if the telkhines hadn't been there at all.

He looked at Nico, hoping to see a cohort of pirates or something surrounding him, but he just met his gaze and shook his head.

"That's not me," he whispered.

The vibrating grew to a trembling, to an all-out shaking and finally, when Jason though his teeth were about to shatter, the ground cracked sending he and Nico tumbling on different sides of the divide.

Water splashed up from the crevasse and seeped around them, electric storm clouds huddling in on all sides over head and swirling in time with the sea.

The wind whipped up suddenly and Jason heard Nico shout, his words drowned out in the unbelievable fury of an unknown force.

The gale pushed against him and he lost his feet, pitching forward onto sharp rocks and frigid stone. It was all he could do not to be knocked into the tumult.

He tried yelling. Where were the others? Everything had been swallowed up including his voice and his cries were lost on the wind and the waves.

He was alone.

If only he could calm this storm, he'd be able to get his bearings. If only just a little peace could ease up this wind…He focused all his energy on reversing the direction of the onslaught and slowly, how agonizingly slowly, he felt something give. Soon he was standing in the center of a Jason-inspired mini-eye of the storm, breathing hard and not daring to be too pleased at his success.

A little ways away, he could make out a dark and tiny figure, kneeling on a miniature slab of rock. He thought he could make out Nico's dark hair, but couldn't be sure.

He tried squinting in the opposite direction and found two other mini islands floating by themselves, clearer to him than the other. In the blurry distance something massive loomed up out of the murk and crashed down. Someone yelled.

And the figure further away from him jumped.

He didn't know who it was and wasn't given time to find out. Another stronger gust broke his concentration and blew him around against the sea. His head slammed to the ground, ringing like cracking thunder through his ears and his eyes went dark behind a swirling blue streaked wall.


	55. LV Hazel

**HAZEL**

It took Hazel two minutes and everything but a slap to get Frank to move.

" _Frank_!"

He was looking at her kindly and nodding like he understood while holding her around the shoulders like he was afraid she'd try and jump again if he wasn't. Which of course she would have.

She couldn't very well tell him that a voice from the sea was telling her to jump, even if she had seen it in a dream. He'd have really thought she'd lost it then. But one thing was for certain, they had to get in the water before that wave hit or it wouldn't matter what Frank thought of her mental state.

"Frank you have to trust me." She spoke as calmly as she could and forced herself to stay still. Sure enough, Frank relaxed a little as well. He let go of her shoulders and shut his eyes.

"Gods, you better be right," he muttered. "Ready then?"

She nodded and they stood, taking a deep breath and slipping in before they could think better of it.

* * *

About two seconds went by before she started to panic.

She had been holding Frank's hand. Now she wasn't. She had somehow managed to lose him in the time it took for them to enter the frigid water. She thought maybe she was dead.

 _No_ , she thought. _That's a stupid idea. I'm the daughter of Pluto. I'm sure I'd know if I'd died…again._

But then where was Frank?

Something bumped her.

It was rubbery, cold. It brushed against her shoulder and she was poked by something triangular. A dorsal fin.

She started to _wish_ she were dead. There was no way she'd be fighting off a shark, not when she could barely feel her fingers let alone hold onto her spatha. Even if she could manage to do that much, she'd need some Fortuna level luck to land a strike.

The animal slid up beside her, gently nudging her side. It didn't appear to be trying to eat her and if anything seemed to reflect a kind of urgency in the way it was trying to pull her along.

And then it turned to face her.

A large and rather bulbous nose looked her in the eyes and squeaked excitedly. It was a dolphin. A dolphin who, dare she think it, even looked a little familiar.

"Frank - " she hazarded, to which the bottlenose bobbed up and down vigorously. Clearly a Yes. "Oh, thank the gods." Hazel swung herself around and hung onto the dorsal for dear life. Dolphin-Frank seemed to sigh in relief and whistled something that she imagined translated to "About time" before spinning himself and propelling them easily away from the rocks.

"We have to get the others." But Frank had already started for the next island and only sped up his pace.

He rode high on the water and motored along as efficiently as if he'd been born with a tail. Hazel clung close to his back, only looking up and over the top of his head when they began to slow in approach to the rocks.

At first she didn't see anyone. There appeared to be nothing but, well, more rocks. Until one of them moved, that is. A glint of gold flickered from the shifting rubble and a tiny bust of air blew a cloud of dust spiraling into the air.

"Jason?" she said, her voice hardly as loud as she'd wanted it to be. The lump groaned and a battered Jason Grace sat up in front of them. He mumbled something about what sounded like _pirates_ and _swimming_ before lifting his head to Hazel and Dolphin-Frank and focusing his gaze.

"Hazel, why are you riding a dolphin?"

"It's Frank, now come on."

Frank whistled and bobbed his head at Jason, ordering him into the water. Jason shrugged and sheathed his gladius, shivering as he slid himself into the waves.

"Where to?" he said to which Hazel merely pointed to the next island.

They had to keep moving.

Jason didn't waste any time though either, cringing as he dropped in beside them and motioning for Frank to take the lead. And they propelled away toward a dark haired, rigid figure.

* * *

Nico was not nearly as torn up as the rest of them. If anything, he had a little more color than usual and stood a little straighter. On the other hand, he didn't seem to notice when they crashed into his shore and Hazel started yelling an explanation. He didn't seem to realize the problem of their current situation.

"Nico!" Her voice had gotten hoarse and her head pounded from the cold. This was not the time for Nico to space on her. " _Nico_ , we have to - "

" _Shh_. I think I've got it." His voice was crisp but strained, slightly jittery like he was coming off of a sugar high.

Behind her, Jason smiled like he knew something the rest of them didn't.

Hazel didn't know what to say let alone what to do. Something was clearly up and Nico was in the center of it - she wasn't quite sure, no, she was _very_ sure that she didn't want to interrupt.

"They're coming…"

"Who - "

"They're close…"

"Where - "

"They're here."


	56. LVI Percy

**PERCY**

Koios just didn't know when to shut up. He kept babbling incoherent accusations and threats, probably about how he'd boil them at the bottom of the sea and make them watch reruns of _Xena : Warrior Princess_ once he'd gotten hold of them.

Whatever it was he was shouting, Percy was pretty positive it wasn't friendly encouragement.

"Stop bumping me, Jackson," Triton spat as Percy stumbled over a loose stone and into the god's elbow.

"Terribly sorry, _oh son of the sea_. I'll try to be more careful about where I dodge sudden death."

Koios lunged again, dark metal flying, Triton and Percy both sidestepping away in different directions. For the god of foresight, he was horrible in hand to hand combat.

He bashed and trampled everything in his path, relying on his brute strength to cover for his dismal inaccuracy. Even so, it was all the son of Poseidon could do to dodge every blow and avoid the harsh cut of the titan's blade.

Triton stood opposite him now, on the other side of Koios, pointing his trident threateningly. Percy could only hope he wasn't the target.

"Well, son of the sea? _Well_? Here we are then. I had my suspicions of course, but I chose to believe you would take the intelligent course of action. I, quite evidently, was wrong. I must now remedy my mistake." Koios' voice was glacial, his lips curling up maliciously in a horrible grimace.

"Yes, well, about that - " Triton began, focusing the triple prongs and letting loose a magnificent jet of liquid.

Percy didn't have to worry about being the target, but that didn't mean he got away from getting royally soaked.

Koios staggered and glared at his former ally.

And then turned and…retreated.

The great sword hung heavy at his side, still unsheathed, and his figure was swallowed up by the shadows and the dark.

"What in Hades just happened…" Percy breathed, still dripping and frigid but looking between Triton and the spot Koios had just been standing.

"He's not giving up, if that's what you're thinking."

"Right - well, of course not…" Percy looked away in annoyance.

 _How does Triton know he's not giving up? Weirder things have happened. Gods, all I did was_ think _it, doesn't mean I actually believed it would happen. That much._

"This isn't going to work, though. We can by no means fight side by side. It isn't practical." Triton continued to scrape the fork of the trident at the frozen stone. It made Percy grimace.

"You're right," he agreed. "We have to work together. When he comes back," he added quickly.

Triton looked at him like he'd just proposed they slow-dance with Medusa.

"No. That's not going to work either. Working together clearly hasn't been effective. I can easily fight him on my own, but with you getting in my way - "

"Then don't get in mine and we'll be just fine." Percy resented being blamed for Triton's inability to see in the peripheral of his slimy green face, but pointing that out now might not work in his favor. "Neither of us can beat him on our own. If we cooperate we at least stand a chance."

"Out of the question. I - "

"Please, Triton."

He hushed, looked Percy dead on. " _What_?"

"Oh, gods, don't make me say it again. I need your help. And you need mine, admit it. You don't _actually_ want the earth to drown, do you? You're just trying to save face - though for who I'm not totally sure."

Triton was silent and Percy could tell he was seriously thinking about what he'd said. Which he hadn't expected. Hoped, but not expected.

"Well, _maybe_ \- "

"Triton - "

He sighed and bowed his head, setting the trident right side up and firm. "I suppose, yes. I suppose you are right."

"Hm - what was that again?"

His brother looked like he was exceeding boiling point. "I said, you. Are. _Right_. Don't push it, Jackson."

 _"_ No, no, of course not! Never dreamed of it. _"_

 _"_ Now, since we're supposed to be fighting together, we should find something to practice on. There are two problems here, after all. _"_

 _"_ Right, where's - _"_

 _"_ Little _help_! _"_ Annabeth echoed across the cavern, making the two jump only to turn and find her pinned between a tiny edge of rock and a giant, arm raise Oceanus. "Little help would be great."


	57. LVII Leo

**LEO**

Leo was not having nearly as much luck as he either wished or needed to have.

Festus was ever passive, colder than before, and utterly hopeless.

Not that he liked to be pessimistic, but he legitimately saw no way out of this for the bronze dragon.

He sat down, exhausted and sweating and defeated, on the crest of Festus's head, feeling for all the world like he should just lay down and cry and wait for this all to be over.

Wait to drown.

But that of course hadn't been on the original agenda and, well. Had to stick to the plan, didn't he? He had to rest a minute though. Clear his head and go about this differently.

He heard Annabeth yell, her voice frustrated and laden with annoyance. Meaning she was terrified. And for good reason, as Oceanus was bearing down on her, having advanced much further since the last time Leo paid attention to the battle.

He was now leaning into the flat of her sword with one massive forearm, edging her closer and closer - which means to say millimeter by millimeter - to the lip of the sea.

But then something erupted from beside them. A torrential onslaught of water, an explosive wall of heavily salted liquid that sent even the titan of the sea back a few inches - just enough room for Annabeth to dodge out from the next blow.

Percy and Triton were together, pushing powerful wave after wave of ocean water across the cavern until the titan had his back against a wall.

 _Wait_ , Leo took a moment. _This is actually working?_ How in Olympus was a titan - an _OCEAN_ titan - being overpowered by two teenagers, or, whatever Triton counted as? But all the same, it _was_ working, and neither boy seemed surprised at their startling effectiveness.

Leo caught Annabeth's eyes, distracted from Festus. She looked just as awestruck as Leo was sure he did, which was to say, he was sure he looked absolutely ridiculous: matted and frizzy hair complete with a grin of maniacal terror.

So pretty close to the usual.

And then Annabeth's eyes changed and she was staring not quite at him anymore. Below his eyes. At Festus. No, at the two bright spots on Festus's neck. Where his hands had been. No, where his hands _were_.

They were glowing white hot, tiny sun spots burning through Festus' metal.

He tried to jerk back but it was no use. His hands had inadvertently heated themselves up and fused to the bronze. What a predicament.

He looked back at Annabeth, trying his best to look like he knew what he was doing, to look like he wasn't freaking out, but she was already scrambling over the stones to get to him.

Somehow, he knew that if she got too close she'd burn up from the heat. He could tell it must be hotter than he felt it to be, much hotter. All the rock within a twenty foot radius of his body was steaming profusely.

Annabeth didn't seem to care, because she was still coming.

He tried to motion to her to stop, remembering too late that his hands were trapped inside molten bronze. He could feel the pressure squeeze in around them as they pulled and strained against their bonds. He also knew it should probably have hurt quite a lot.

"Annabeth, no!" he said, shaking his head furiously, unsurprised that she didn't seem to heed the warning at all. She took a sharp breath as she crossed into the edge of the little inferno he was creating, sheathed her sword, and with a determined step, began marching forward.

"Aghh," Leo grunted, focusing his attention on what in Hephaestus' name his body thought it was doing and how he could stop it. He was up to the wrists in gooey, glistening bronze and didn't like the numbness that was slowly creeping up his arms.

"Leo, what the Hades are you - "

Something clicked. He could feel it under his fingertips - or, at least where he presumed his fingertips were. It clicked again, louder this time, and Annabeth stopped advancing, staring at him like he was setting a bomb. Which maybe he was, he certainly didn't know.

Once more, _click_ , bouncing off the walls and sending a tiny shockwave through the molten.

And he felt a release. He tried his hands again, knowing they'd follow this time, and slid them easily from the bronze casement which immediately began to cool.

"Huh. What d'you suppose - "

"Leo, look." Annabeth was no longer looking at him but the look of awe had doubled if not tripled. Leo followed her gaze and immediately understood why.

Festus' tail had moved. And now it twitched again, shuddering down the length of the plating, shifting the wings out of position, the broad shoulders off kilter, the horns slightly askew. And the dragon took a rasping, rusty breath.

"Leo." Annabeth put a cautious hand on his shoulder as if preparing to be burned. "Leo, you did it."

Leo nodded, unsure what kind of sound would come out if he tried to speak.

After a moment, he finally found his voice and decided it wasn't going to conk out on him. "Sometimes I am absolutely positive he's not a dragon at all. He's got to be a cat with all of the lives he's used up."


	58. LVIII Jason

**JASON**

Nico looked possessed - bad choice of words? - by whatever it was that was "coming".

Hazel and Frank both looked more than a little panicky and Jason couldn't help but smile that he knew what was coming (well, for the most part).

"They're here," Nico said again, cocking his head and focusing on something far out to sea. Something dark just visible on the already pitch black torrent. Something moving through the water.

"Tell me they're pirates," Jason whispered, more to himself than the others. Hazel looked at him with a sudden realization.

"You mean - "

"Mhm - I believe we have ourselves a little army of the undead."

"You're welcome," Nico said smugly, clearly pleased with his handiwork.

The undead soldiers approached with ferocious speed, madly stroking through the water until they were close enough to be clearly visible. They stopped a ways away from the little rock the demigods were perched on, waiting patiently for their master's orders.

"Help us to defeat the titans," Nico bellowed, his voice commanding and distinguished. "At all costs we must win this."

Despite the force of the son of Hades' voice, the wind was stronger and seemed to suck up all sound he uttered the moment it left his mouth. Thankfully, this didn't seem to matter as the new recruits immediately took off again, breaststroking and front-crawling it to the little bits of the main shore that still existed intent on doing in their enemies at the risk of certain re-death.

"Okay, now we can go." Nico turned towards dolphin Frank and Hazel, making a face at their obvious shock. "What? Child of Hades can't summon the dead if he wants to?"

Jason resisted the urge to counter him but thought it best to not. With his luck, Nico would set one of the passing dead men on him. Looking down below them, below the waters' surface but still visible through the murk and current, he caught sight of more bodies, legs kicking frantically but effectively in a modified underwater freestyle, and the occasional tail with its powerfully elongated movements. Somehow, he hadn't exactly thought of any dead Mer being risen, though it did make sense. And would prove useful.

Frank took off at full speed again, making room for the undead to pass and finding they were already accommodating for him, anticipating his path and steering clear.

Piper saw them coming and didn't really need an explanation as to what was going on - or didn't _want_ one at present which no one argued with.

They set off once more, watching the pieces of rock sail by and the first few undead soldiers to reach them climbing fearlessly up the sides.

The final island came into view and they rushed up to the bank, all five - well, maybe not Frank - prepped to jump to the explanation…

But no one was there.

It should have been Calypso, she was the last of them, but there was no goddess there to greet them when they surfaced.

"You don't think she fell, do you? Got knocked off?" Piper whispered.

"Maybe," Hazel said. "But for some reason I don't think she'd have let that happen - unless something _else_ happened…"

"Alright, let's go. No one separates though. We're all together on this." Jason backed up and stepped back into the water, Frank flipped his tail with anxious enthusiasm, and Hazel, Piper, and Nico grudgingly slid in behind them, holding tightly to Frank's back. All prepared to submerge as Jason swirled the water into a small cyclone which became a small air bubble which grew until it could accommodate all the companions.

And together the dove into the sea in order to escape the sea.


End file.
